Flight of the Raven
by ThProjectShadow
Summary: Issei Hyoudou is taken from his parents at a young age. He endured thousands of experiments before finally breaking free of the chains that bound him, and is now on a hunt for the people who destroyed his life, and all the while securing peace for the three factions. Very OP Issei! Issei x Harem, Issei x ? Rated M for Swearing and very minor Gore
1. Prologue

**Hello all, and welcome to my brand new story. Now just before we begin, I want to say that I will NOT be abandoning WDOD for this one, and l might not be updating this quite often, though I will try and update the two stories consecutively. The reason I'm starting this now instead of September, is because I've got a bad case of writers block again, and I've got a few ideas flying around my head so I wanted to write them down before I forget them.**

 **Now a quick summary: This is another OP Issei fic, but he will have a darker past and, just to please the one guy who complained about it, more writing to explain how he got to his level of power, because apparently time skips aren't enough...**

 **Anyway, he will not be a part of Rias' peerage in this fic, nor will he ever become a devil. Some of the first reviews I got on WDOD were questions as to where Issei's loyalty lay, though a few people were disappointed that he became a 'Servant' even though I made a loophole, but I can guarantee that he will remain neutral in this story.**

 **I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

 **(Unknown Location)**

"My Lord, we have located the boy" a voice spoke out from what looked like the entrance to an ominous looking room. Stood near a window with a grin on his face, was a tall man who looked to be in his 40's with long silver hair and a beard of the same colour, wearing an ornate armour with eight pauldrons protruding outwards.

"Raziel, you're back. Have confirmed whether or not it is the Sekiryuutei's presence?" the man asked. From the doorway appeared another man, though this one was visibly muscular, with short black hair and brown eyes, wearing a black shirt with one sleeve, and a pair of black pants.

"Yes, Lord Rizevim. We have just received confirmation that it is indeed the presence of Ddraig within the boy... shall I send them in?" Rizevim was about to say yes, but a sudden thought stopped him and brought a maniacal grin across his face

"Your report said that the boy was just a child, correct?"

"Yes, my Lord. According to the report, the child is only four years of age. Why do you ask?"

"I think I'll handle this myself. The boy is young, so it should be easy to break his will if he watches his parents tortured right in front of him. It'll make our work much, much easier~"

"Sadistic as ever, my Lord. Very well, I shall inform the others to prepare."

"Thank you, Razi-kun... Oh and bring a video camera with you, I'll want to watch the moment over and over again! Ooh~ Just the thought of torturing those humans makes me feel so orgasmic!"

"Very good, my Lord" Raziel bowed and left the room.

* * *

 **(Kuoh Town - Hyoudou Residence)**

Late in the evening saw a young couple sitting in each others arms, their gazes switching between the television and the black haired boy who was sitting in the corner with his toys, their young son Issei, who was oblivious to their repeated glances. The two looked on amused at their son, but a knock at their door interrupted them. The woman tried to stand so she could answer the door, but she was pulled back down by her husband.

"I'll get it Yuko, it's probably just the neighbours again."

"Alright Shu, but don't be too long" Shu left his wife's grip and answered the door, stood there were a group of men, all clad in black clothing and in front of them all was Raziel

"Shukisi Hyoudou?" he asked

"Yeah, that's me... can I help you?"

"My name is Raziel Mammon, we're here to take your son." Raziel then raised his hand and blasted a ball of energy at Shu, sending him through the wall of the living room. Yuko and Issei both rushed over to the bloodied man in tears and looked towards the direction he came from, and saw the men in black enter the house "Heal the man and then tie him up, Lord Rizevim wants to be the one that ends their pitiful lives."

"Yes sir." some of the men with him stepped forward and dragged Shu away, allowing Raziel to step forward and grab Issei by the neck

"So this is the brat that holds the Welsh Dragon" Raziel said smirking as Issei struggled in his grip

"Get off of my son!" Yuko screamed as she charged at Raziel, who just backhanded her across the room

"Okaa-san!" Issei bit Raziel's hand, causing him to drop Issei. He attempted to run to his mother, but Raziel gripped his shirt effectively halting his movements "Let go!" Raziel laughed and threw Issei across the room

"Hah, stupid brat"

"Issei!" Yuko tried to reach her son, but was promptly pulled back into place "You bastards! Why are you doing this?" Raziel smirked and lifted her face to meet his

"Because he has a power inside of him that my master wants. You should be thanking us, your son will become a weapon, one that will help bring about a change and secure our hopes of a new world, a better world, led by Lord Rizevim"

"W-weapon?"

"Yes... a weapon! Once he is completed, we will use his power to destroy those who oppose us, and eliminate those who are a threat to the new world." Raziel looked straight into her eyes "You know, it's a shame that we have to kill you. I think I might treat myself to your body before your execution" Yuko spat on him in response, but was once again backhanded by Raziel.

"Now now, Razi-kun... I already told you that I will be the one to torture them." the voice came from the doorway, and as they all turned they were greeted with Rizevim's grinning visage.

"My Lord, we have done as instructed... though I fear that the boy may be unconscious at the moment." Raziel spoke as he and the others bowed

"Raise your heads. Razi-kun, wake the boy up, but don't hurt him too badly or I fear that all this will be for naught." Rizevim then turned to the parents "Ah, you must be the boys parents. My name is Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the son of Lucifer and leader of our group, Qlippoth!"

"L-Lucifer? As in the Devil Lucifer?"

"Kyahaha, that's right. Though it would be proper to say "The first Devil" there are more than one of us you know~"

"W-Why? Why us? Why our son?" Shu asked, earning an amused smirk from Rizevim

"I'm sure Razi-kun has gone through this before, but you probably weren't listening so I'll tell you again. Your son holds one of the thirteen Longinus, the most powerful of the Sacred Gears that were bestowed upon humans by God before he died. The one he has is the [Boosted Gear], otherwise known as the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet. My plan is to take him into my own hands and forge him into a weapon to stand by my side in the new world that I will create!"

"Issei is a kind soul. No matter what you try, he won't kill for you!"

"Not while he has hope." Rizevim replied and laughed madly "That's why I'm going to break his will as soon as possible. Imagine the psychological damage his youthful mind will undertake when he sees his parents torn apart and tortured before his very eyes." both Shu and Yuko's eyes widened in shock

"Y-You're a monster!" Yuko shouted, the tears freely falling from her eyes. Shu was in the same condition, though he was constantly trying to break out of the bonds

"Nope~ I'm a Devil~ It's fundamental that I be evil. You see, my Father raised me to seek out opportunity, and shoot it where it sleeps, so as soon as I sensed the Sekiryuutei's presence within your son, I immediately decided to use him for my own plans." Rizevim looked towards Issei and noticed that he was now awake, faring no better than his parents "Anyway, now that your brat is awake we can get onto the fun part!"

"Fun part?" Shu asked nervously

"Yes, the fun part. Make sure to scream reeeeeally loud, okay~ Ah I do love torturing pathetic humans!"

"My Lord, a moment if you will?" Raziel said as he stepped forward, to which Rizevim huffed and complied, walking out into the hallway

"Make it quick, you're interrupting my torture time."

"My Lord, I don't mean to question your orders, but is it really alright?" Rizevim looked at him half amused but half confused

"Ara, Ara. Razi-kun's gotten soft. What happened to the Raziel that cared not if humans lived or died?"

"You misunderstand me. I don't care if they live or not, but you were just saying how pathetic they are, yet you want to recruit one of them..." Rizevim widened his eyes in realization

"Ah, so that's want you meant. Well it seems that this time it is _you_ that misunderstood _me_ ; I stand by what I said about the humans, but hopefully the boy won't be human for much longer. If everything goes to plan, he will awaken the Welsh Dragon and sacrifice his body in a futile attempt to escape, or better yet save his parents."

"And if he doesn't?"

"It's not a matter of "if" it's "when". There is no doubt in my mind that he will succumb to the Welsh Dragon sooner or later, it just so happens that "sooner" is much more convenient for us."

"Very good, my Lord. I'll start with the barrier, we wouldn't want any interruptions now would we?"

"Thank you, Razi-kun. Ah, this is gonna be so fun~ I haven't tortured humans in a long time!"

Those hours of torture were the worst moments of Issei's life. He was forced to watch his parents torn limb from limb, forced to endure their pained screams no matter how hard he tried to block it out, no matter how much he wanted to look away, he was beaten back into place by his captors. And through it all, he could only wonder why they wouldn't just end it, why they wouldn't just end his parents lives instead of healing them, just to beat them down again.

Everything from toes to tongues were scattered across the floor, along with a large puddle of blood painting the floor dark red. After watching his parents finally granted eternal rest, Issei completely broke down; his cries eventually died down, and while the tears were falling down his face, his eyes were completely hollow and lifeless.

* * *

 **(Inside Issei's Mind)**

"Okaa-san... Otou-san..." While his physical appearance was broken, inside his mind, Issei was faring much worse. He floated around endlessy in the dark void of his mind, crying for his parents, but to no avail, when all of a sudden, the area around him changed into a fiery pit, and from the depths of the mindscape, out flew a large red Western Dragon with emerald green eyes, staring intently at Issei.

 **[So young... yet you have been forced to endure something no child ever should]**

"W-Who? What?" Issei backed away in fear of the large Dragon in front of him

 **[Do not be afraid my host. I won't harm you, actually it's quite the opposite, I want to help]**

"...Help how?"

 **[I'm afraid that it's too late for your parents, but if you sacrifice part of your body to me, you might be able to escape]**

"What will I need to give up to avenge my parents?"

 **[If you wish to waste this chance and attack them, then you will need to sacrifice your entire body, but even with the sacrifice, any power I give you won't be enough to hurt that man.]**

"I DON'T CARE! H-He didn't just kill them... he TORTURED them. I'd rather die avenging them, than running like a coward. Otou-san taught me that cowards are the worst kinds of people, and I'm no coward!"

To say Ddraig was surprised would be a severe understatement. In all his years sealed inside the [Boosted Gear] he had never seen so much wisdom and courage coming from someone as young as Issei was, of course he had hosts that were very courageous, but none of them were four years old.

 **[You are very interesting. You are but a young child, yet you speak wisdom expected of men near the end of their lives. If you really want to fight, then I shall take your entire being as a sacrifice. Before you agree, I shall inform you of what that entails; firstly, your body will change into that of a humanoid dragon, your eyes will become like mine, your teeth will grow sharper and your body will be tough as a Dragon's.]**

"That doesn't really sound like much of a drawback, but either way, I will still try and avenge them!"

 **[Very well, I can only hope that you make it out alive. Good luck, partner.]**

* * *

 **(Outside of Issei's mind)**

The Qlippoth members were preparing to leave the Hyoudou house, with Issei's limp form in hand, before a surge of energy blasted some of them away. Stood in the center of the blast was Issei clad in the Scale Mail armour of the [Boosted Gear]

 **[I must warn you partner, even though you sacrificed your body, you can only last in this form for half a minute, so I would recommend that you kill whoever you can and escape]**

'Not just anyone Ddraig... I want to kill HIM' Issei suddenly charged forward towards Rizevim, but was intercepted by his lackeys, and before he knew what happened, his arms pointed outwards and two large blasts of energy were shot off, though it was not powerful enough to kill them, it was enough to knock them unconscious. 'What just happened?'

 **[I took temporary control of your arms, I won't make a habit out of it but I will do it if I think It'll help]**

Issei mentally nodded and poured his remaining energy into the jets, and charged towards Rizevim yet again, though this time it was Rizevim himself who stopped Issei. He held out his hand and after a quick flash, the Scale Mail dissipated, and as Issei fell forward, a swift chop to the back of his neck rendered him unconscious.

"Looks like you were right." Raziel said as he picked Issei off of the ground "Though I wonder why you don't just extract his Sacred Gear and give it to someone more powerful than him."

"Whether we extract it or not is still to be decided, but the reason is because he is human." Rizevim replied, much to the confusion of Raziel

"I'm afraid I don't understand, my Lord."

"Humans are, by far, one of the weakest species in this world... So why is it that they have been able to survive for so long when there are more powerful forces all around them? It's really simple, humans adapt to survive; when compared to the three factions, it's no surprise that humans are prospering. We Devils are beings of Greed, which is a driving force in our actions. The Fallen Angels are beings of Lust, which also affects their ways of living. And finally, the Angels; due to their pure natures, it is impossible for them to reproduce without risk of falling." Raziel nodded in understanding

"Leave a Devil in the wild, and he'll use his powers to live, since he has no need to change himself, but if you leave a Human there, it's an entirely different story; he will change the way he lives, do anything as long as it means he'll keep on living."

"Exactly! I plan to utilize his adaptability, so that hopefully he will be able to improvise should he slip up... assuming he passes the test, that is."

"And if he fails?"

"Then we take his Sacred Gear and pass it on to someone more worthy"

"Very good, my Lord"

"Alright, let's return to headquarters, we can give him the test tomorrow!" Raziel nodded and followed the rest of the group. Rizevim took a final look around the house, before nodding to himself and upon exiting the building, he summoned a large magic circle and completely demolished the house. Only then did he leave, with a satisfied smirk adorning his face, to prepare for the many experiments he had planned for Issei.

* * *

 **Alright, prologue is over, let me know what you think of the story so far. I can't guarantee that I'll update consistently, since WDOD is my main story and I want to focus on that, but as I said, I will try and do one after the other. R &R! Shadow Out!**


	2. School Days

**Welcome to the official first chapter of FOTR, excluding the prologue of course. Hopefully you enjoy what I have planned for this story. This chapter will start in the "present" so around the time canon starts, but Issei's past will be explained as the story progresses, though it might not be all at once. And thank you for the reviews you guys left, I know the first chapter probably wasn't that interesting, but hopefully this one makes up for that. One final thing, this is going to be an OP Issei fic, but he will remain neutral throughout the story.**

 **I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

 **(Unknown Location)**

 **Normal POV**

It was a week after Issei had been taken from his home, his parents murdered. He was currently strapped tightly onto what looked like an operating table in a 'T' position, and while he was previously struggling to escape from the binds, though Ddraig soon told him to stop. Now he just lay there, watching as multiple men who looked like doctors walked around the room muttering something about "The test" and whether or not it will be successful.

Issei may have been only four years old, but he was by no means stupid, it was obvious to him that he was going to be undergoing some sort of operation or experiment, the doctors walking around and the box with the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign were big clues, the only thing that looked out of the ordinary was the bulky man wielding a large axe.

"Are the preparations ready?" Rizevim called out from a platform overlooking the whole operation, his voice caused everyone in the room to bow instinctively.

"Yes, my Lord. The spheres have been prepared and are now ready for use. We can proceed with the experiment on your word." the man who spoke had the label "Head Scientist" printed on his uniform

"Very good, then you may proceed." the head scientist nodded

"My Lord, what if the boy refuses to accept the treatment?"

"Then you may injure him, but nothing fatal. We don't want to lose the [Boosted Gear] after we spent so long trying to find it."

"Yes, my Lord" after bowing once again, the Head Scientist nodded to a man wearing similar clothes, causing the man to jump slightly and rush over to the operating table with the box with the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign "Thank you, Max, now let's get started." the doctor removed the lid of the box, and inside there were three glowing blue spheres, one of which were picked up with a pair of metal tongs and held above Issei's mouth.

"Now, open wide." Issei closed his mouth tightly and turned his head away "*Sigh* I though it would come to this." the doctor turned to the large man with the axe "You know what to do Sal, just don't kill him"

The now named Sal scoffed and stepped over to the table from his chair "I know, I know. Geez, I'm not a child Han." Sal cracked his knuckles and grinned as he noticed the fearful look on Issei's face "Now be a good little boy and open wide, or you'll get a big dose of pain instead." Issei still ignored them, a decision he soon regretted as a large fist came into contact with his jaw, completely dislocating it with blood freely flowing from his mouth.

"Thank you, though I would've preferred it if you dropped all the theatrics." Han's eyes twitched as he heard Issei's pained crying, quickly growing irritated used his magic to destroy Issei's voice box, completely silencing him. "Heh, much better, now let's begin for real" the doctor placed the sphere into Issei's open mouth and watched as it slowly floated down his throat. Issei suddenly felt a searing pain caused by the light sphere and thrashed about in his bindings. Eventually the light died down, as did the pain and as soon as the doctor noticed, he gave a quick nod to Sal.

"Ahh, this is my favourite part!" Sal said twirling the axe in his hand before raising it above his head "It's a real shame you had to cry so loudly, I would've loved to hear your screams." Issei could only watch as the large blade fell faster than he could see, and cleanly removed his left arm from the rest of his body. If his vocal cords weren't already destroyed, his pained screams would've torn them, but the only indication he was in any pain at all, were the tears falling from his hollow eyes.

"Han, make sure he stays alive!" Rizevim shouted from his platform, getting a nod from the doctor. Han promptly created a magic circle over what was once Issei's left arm and began to channel magic to stabilize his pulse and stop the blood flow. By now Issei was breathing heavily, and everyone in the room was staring intently at his left arm, expecting something to happen

"My Lord, it appears as though his body has rejected the sphere's power." Rizevim put on a pensive expression, humming to himself as he mulled something over before finally nodding

"Use a second sphere!" Rizevim's suggestion shocked the doctor, but he complied nonetheless and placed the sphere into Issei's mouth, beginning the painful process yet again, but to no avail, still no change in him. Rizevim narrowed his eyes when he sensed the growing energy in Issei, it was the same structure as the spheres, yet there were no present changes in him "Insert the final sphere."

"M-My Lord, I insist that you reconsider this! It could take decades for us to create even one of them, is it really worth it on this boy?"

"If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Just do what I told you, or you might end up like Issei here; strapped to a table with his arm cut off." Han immediately bowed and apologized profusely.

"I'm very sorry, my Lord. I should know better than to question my Lord's judgement." he quickly placed the third into Issei's mouth, and the same process repeated, but this time, his stump arm began to glow slightly "It worked!" a deep purple light extended from the light and took the form of an arm. The glowing died down, and the purple light solidified, forming a brand new arm exactly like the one that was removed. His throat and his jaw both went through the same process, and with the same results, his vocal cords were repaired and his jaw was fixed back into place.

"My intuition was correct... there was nothing wrong with the subjects, it was the number of spheres we used." Rizevim released his twelve wings and flew above the room, gaining the attention of everyone in the room "Remember this my loyal servants, today is the birth of the ultimate weapon! The one that will help secure our rule in the new world! Today is the birth of Project Shadow!" a round of loud cheers followed his speech, and after unleashing his trademark laugh he returned to his platform and walked out of the room, thoroughly enjoying the screams of Issei as he left.

* * *

 **(Kuoh Town - 13 years later)**

"Gah!" a young boy woke up in a shock "That dream... I've never had one like that, not since my first day in that hellish place..." he turned to check the alarm clock that lay on the floor next to his futon "6:26... *sigh* no point going back to sleep, since I have school in two hours. Damn that Azazel, why did he have to enrol me in that annoying school anyway?!"

 **[You've said the exact same thing for the past six months, and I've given you the exact same answer; because it makes the mission easier]** a voice asked, making Issei jump slightly

"Oh, Ddraig. I didn't know you were awake already... anyway, I could just as easily watched her without having to endure those boring teachers droning on about Algebra and Ionization."

 **{I believe that Azazel did it so you could make friends your own age, since you never had a chance to do so before.}** a second voice spoke up

"*sigh* but Tenma, that works against me in the end, what happens if, when the mission is over, I get second thoughts about leaving because I've grown attached to someone? What happens if they find out who I really am? Besides, it's not like I've been "successful" in making any friends."

 **...**

"I know Kurama, but I can't exactly risk it. If i do end up getting attached and someone finds out what my real name is, then they'll use the people that are close to me as a means of hurting me."

 **...**

"Remember, it's not only Sirzechs who asked me to watch someone here... but the reason is it's good pay; both Lucifer and Leviathan are massive Siscons, so they give me a lot of money each week to make sure their siblings aren't hurt."

 **[If they gave you a lot of money, why are we living in this crappy store?]**

"It's all about appearances Ddraig, people are going to ask questions if they find out I'm living in a luxurious mansion when I don't have any parents, but if they find out I'm a High School student who runs a general store, they're not likely to wonder"

 **...**

"Kurama! I thought we agreed to no fourth wall breaking!"

 **{I agree with him, surely the readers are wondering who we are and why we are with you}**

"Not you too Tenma... *sigh* Ddraig, opinion?"

 **[The sooner you explain, the sooner we can fix the wall]**

"*sigh* Fine, but just this once. Alright, you already know about Ddraig, the Sekiryuutei; sealed in the [Boosted Gear] after he died fighting Albion during the Great War, he's been with me since the very beginning. As for the other two, they're Tenma Taro..."

 **{That's me}**

"...and Kurama"

 **...**

"Kurama can't speak, but he is able to "talk" to me telepathically. Anyway, a long time ago, Youkai were able to roam freely without worry of Humans finding out about them, back then there were only two gods they acknowledged; Tenma Taro, the Crow God, representing destruction and chaos, and Kurama, the original Nine-Tailed fox, representing peace and order.

For centuries, Kurama was worshipped as the benevolent ruler and protector of all Youkai, so when Tenma Taro showed up, the Youkai believed that he was there to overthrow Kurama from his position and lead the Youkai under a dictatorship. Of course, Kurama responded to this threat and challenged Tenma to a fight, which raged on for months until finally, one had fallen; Kurama. He wasn't powerful enough to defeat Tenma, and fully expected the Crow God to destroy the civilization he had worked so hard to shape into what it was, but he was wrong.

Tenma Taro wanted nothing more than to fight strong opponents, to test his strength against the other gods in the world, so the two had an agreement; Kurama would tell the Youkai that he won the bout, as long as the two would fight biannually. The reason? If the God they believed could protect them was defeated by another, Chaos would ensue, and the civilization he tried to protect would be in shambles, and Tenma just wanted a challenge.

The two had eventually left behind their titles as Youkai Gods and travelled around the world in secret, giving rule of the Youkai to the Kyuubi. Unfortunately, many millennia later, they were captured by Rizevim, and their souls forcibly removed and sealed within me, and their conscious, along with mine and Ddraig's were sealed away, giving Rizevim absolute control over me and the powers that I had. As a result, I gained control over Senjutsu and Youjutsu, but I could do nothing since my actions weren't my own.

Anyway, about a couple of years ago, the scientists gave me an eye transplant of sorts. Thanks to that, I gained a power I like to call "Eagle Vision" it allows me to see things in slow motion, hypnotise people, and I can even view memories and see them from a different perspective. Using my new Eagle Vision, I was able to escape from the lab, it wasn't easy, but I made it out alive. After that, Azazel found me and took me back to the Grigori to recover, where I explained everything to him and soon became one of the best mercenaries around.

To Azazel, I'm Issei Hyoudou, but the rest of the supernatural world know me as Raven. That's right, Azazel is the only person who knows that I am Raven, in fact, other than the members of Qlippoth, Azazel is the only one who knows I'm Ddraig's host. I'd prefer to keep it that way too, if the Devils found out then there would be no end to the amount of peerage related requests from the greedy beings."

 **{You forgot someone}** Issei looked confused for a moment, but soon nodded when he realized

"Oh right *whsttt* Taka!" within moments, a brown hawk wearing a black and white chequered neckerchief landed on his shoulder and rubbed it's head against Issei's. His response was to scratch it's neck, which the bird seemed to enjoy "This is my best friend, Taka. I found her a while back when I was on a job in North America, but she's by no means a normal hawk, she has powers of her own, but that's unimportant right now. What IS important is that we fix the fourth wall you so crudely broke Tenma!"

 **{B-But, Kurama said it first!}**

"Kurama can't speak!"

 **{*Grumble* Stupid fox *Grumble*}**

 **[Partner, it's about time for you to get ready, you already wasted half an hour explaining why th-]**

"DDRAIG! FOURTH WALL! INTACT!"

 **[U-Uh, right. Anyway, it's almost seven, so you should get dressed.]**

"Right. Taka, go get your breakfast and meet me in the living room" Taka rubbed against Issei again before flying off of his shoulder, leaving Issei to prepare for another gruelling day at Kuoh academy.

It had become a habit of Issei's to stare at the scars on his body whenever he stepped out of the shower, it served as a painful reminder that he had no one left. As far as aunts and uncles were concerned, hi mother had no siblings and the ones on his fathers side just didn't care, not like they would recognize him anyway. Sharp, blood red eyes, night black hair with red highlights on each spike, he looked nothing like the young boy that was kidnapped all those years ago, it's not like they would believe a seventeen year old boy claiming to be related to them anyway.

He turned around, his back now facing the mirror, and looked upon the most prominent mark on his body; the bright red mark that defined him, or at least defined who he used to be. The mark was branded on him the same day he was dubbed "Project Shadow" and no matter what he tried, he was unable to remove it nor was he able to hide it with magic.

 **[Don't worry... we'll kill that bastard for sure]** Issei nodded and muttered a quick "thanks". It was at this moment, Issei recalled another annoying aspect of attending Kuoh Academy; the uniform. He would say it was the most annoying thing if not for the fact that the school let you customize it to a certain extent, so he was now donned in a pair of black pants, brown dress shoes and a white, long-sleeved button-down shirt with the top three buttons undone, revealing the black sleeveless shirt underneath.

As he entered the living room, he took notice of Taka happily eating a small pigeon on his perch and smiled internally. He then moved to the kitchen to make his own breakfast, nothing much, just bacon and eggs, and a few extra pieces of bacon for Taka before getting up to leave the store, but before he even reached the door, Taka flew over and landed on his shoulder. Issei looked at her, knowing exactly what it was she wanted, and sighed before scratching the underside of her neck again.

"I'm sorry girl, but you know I can't take you to school, I'm trying not to draw attention to myself here." the hawk lowered it's head "How about this, if the coast is clear, I'll whistle for you, then you can stay with me, at least until the SC gets close" Taka nodded and flew back to her perch, allowing Issei to leave the building.

* * *

 **(Kuoh Academy)**

 **Issei POV**

As I walked through the front gates, I received my usual fanfare; every guy glaring at me, and every girl looking away disgusted. I've done nothing wrong of course, but they chose to believe some completely insane rumours, that I'm an ex-con or something equally stupid, and to no ones surprise, the two perverts were the ones to spread it. They got the idea after they saw the scars on my back, along with a set of muscles that would put most male models to shame, a result of Qlippoth's training schedule; I was pushed to the brink, until my muscles were torn then thanks to my regenerative factor, they were healed and then I did it all over again.

Strange thing is, most of the girls seemed infatuated with me when I started attending this school but it probably didn't help that I said nothing against the rumours, since they aren't completely wrong since I lived in a dank cell for ten years but what can you do? "Oh, that... well you see, my parents were killed by Lucifer's son, then I was kidnapped and experimented on. Yeah, they threw me in a cell each night, you know, nothing special" cause that'll go down well.

But, as I said earlier, it works well for me; the less people know about me, the better. The less connections I have, the better off I am when the mission's over. Still, I have no complaints for easy money, but watching the red head gets really boring... and her combat skills are abysmal, and her servants aren't doing much better. She's supposed to be one of the six "Super Rookies" yet she sits around on her ass all day, doing nothing to get stronger *sigh* even her arrogance knows no end.

No matter... as long as I hide my presence, which is easy with Senjutsu, then I won't have any problems with the princess. Not that she's taken any notice, whenever we've crossed paths, she hasn't even acknowledged that I exist... the only one who looked at me was the school princess, Yumi Kiba, though I have no clue as to why.

 **[You sound unsure partner, if she can't spare a glance when you're walking by, do you really think she'd try and recruit you?]**

I do. Ever since I had that dream, I've had a bad feeling, like something big is going to happen soon, and I believe that Gremory is going to take advantage of it

 **{I felt the same thing too, I'm not sure if you noticed, but a Fallen Angel was following us this morning}**

Yeah, whoever was following me didn't try to hide their presence at all. Almost as if they want me to know they've been following me

 **[Either that, or they have no idea you can sense them]**

True... I know for a fact that Azazel is the only one who knows about me being Raven, so they can't be under Azazel's orders... so they're either under orders from another leader, or they're a rogue group.

 **...**

Seems like the best plan, I'll see what they want first, but if they attack me I won't hesitate to kill them. If they're following me it's probably because of Ddraig. Not even Sirzechs could sense my level of power when he first met me, so I doubt a weak Fallen can.

 **[Anyway, good luck. I'm going back to sleep]**

*sigh* lazy dragon...

 **{It's not Ddraig's fault, Issei. The dream, or rather the memory, caused an influx of power in your body}**

Yeah, right... what does that mean exactly?

 **...**

Really? So Ddraig's been using his own energy to stabilize it?

 **{That's right. Do you have any idea what caused it? It's never happened before}**

The mark maybe; when he placed the mark on me, he used his own magical power. Perhaps he's using it as a way of bringing the memories back.

 **{Perhaps. We'll speak more about it later, your first lesson is starting}**

Oh joy

* * *

 **(Occult Research Club)**

 **Normal POV**

The Occult Research Club; a victorian styled room in the old school building, with two ornate sofas either side of a wooden table, a large desk at the end of the room, and a magic circle with the Gremory crest in the centre of the room. Stood in the window was a buxom, blue-eyed crimson haired girl with a pensive expression on her face, her uniform consisted of a white long-sleeved button-down shirt with vertical linings, a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and matching button-down corset, a magenta skirt with white accents, and a pair of brown dress shoes over white crew-length socks.

"Is something wrong, Rias-Buchou?" Rias turned from the window, and saw a buxom girl wearing the same uniform, with violet eyes and black, thigh-length hair tied in a ribbon.

"Oh, Akeno. No, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking about that strange boy, I believe his name was Hyoudou." Akeno's eyes widened slightly

"Issei Hyoudou, class 2-A. Generally unlike among the student body because of a rumour that he spent time in prison."

"He went to Prison!? At his age!?" Rias asked shocked

"That's what the rumours say. No one knows for sure, but from what I've heard he hasn't denied anything." Rias and Akeno moved to the sofas to continue their conversation

"What started those rumours anyway?" Rias asked curious

"You know how the boys are right? They probably made it up out of jealousy, but everyone seems to believe it."

"I get that, it's just... how did they come up with something like that?"

"I'm not really sure, I think it was something about a tattoo and some scars on his back. Though I remember hearing something about his muscle mass being abnormally large. Fufufu, I just wish I could see it for myself, being devoured by a younger man sounds so good!" Akeno licked her lips with a large blush on her face causing Rias to sigh at her antics "Why the sudden interest, Buchou?"

"This morning, I sensed a Fallen Angel watching Hyoudou. I believe that they have sensed a Sacred Gear within him, and if so, they may try to kill him."

"So you wish to recruit him?"

"Yes. If the Fallen have deemed him enough of a threat to kill him, then maybe he would be a good choice for a [Pawn]" Akeno looked at her shocked

"So... you're going to let him die by the Fallen and force him into our world?"

"No, I'm not going to force him. I'll leave it up to him whether or not he is reincarnated. Don't forget, there's a chance that the Fallen Angel is only watching him, so I want you to have Koneko follow him for the next few days."

"I'll tell her when I see her next."

"Thank you Akeno"

* * *

 **(Kuoh Town)**

 **Issei POV**

Finally! *sigh* is it just me, or did it feel like that today was longer than usual?

 **{Probably because that dopey teacher had no idea what he was saying. He probably couldn't tell a pigeon from a bald eagle}**

You were paying attention? You're a multi-millenia year old Youkai God, with an I.Q, of over 10,000, you don't need to listen to boring old men who are way past their expiry date, drone on about trigonometry functions.

 **{One of us have to pay attention, there's no point getting into trouble over something so menial.}**

Yeah, but I don't need to pay attention, you were teaching me at university level when I was thirteen. Anyway, onto more important matters... you noticed right?

 **{Yep, the Fallen is still on your tail}**

 **[One of the Devils are also following you]**

Gremory or Sitri?

 **[It's Gremory's girl, the white haired one]**

Koneko Toujou, no surprise really. She's the only one who would be able to sense my energy, or at least she would if I wasn't masking it.

 **...**

Yeah, I think I'll stop just up ahead and wait to see what the Fallen does.

 **[What are you going to do?]**

Hmm... well, we're pretty sure she's going to try and kill me right?

 **[Yeah] {That's right}**

Right, and since Gremory's servant has been sent to follow me, I know that the princess knows about it. So our next move all depends on what the Fallen Angel does.

 **[We'll find out soon enough, she's here now]**

"E-Excuse me" playing the shy girl huh? Let's see how good her disguise is... huh, not bad. School uniform, guess she's trying to fit in. Dark red jacket with the letter "P" embroidered in gold, a white undershirt, a red bow, and a green skirt with a thin white strip around the lower end of it... I've been all over Kuoh and I have never seen a uniform like that before.

 **[I'd tap that...]**

Ddraig, you'd tap anything wearing a tight blouse and mini-skirt. Well... you would if you had a body

 **[Damn... that was a low blow]**

"U-Um, hello?" Oh right, she's still here

"Can I help you?"

"You're Issei Hyoudou, right? From Kuoh Academy?"

"Yes, I am. I'm sorry, have we met before? I don't recognize you."

"U-uh, no we haven't. Um... I've seen you pass by this bridge a lot and... I've always thought that you were handsome and... I-I wanted to know if you'd maybe go out with me?" So that's her plan... go on a date, and then kill me at the end... Gremory's probably expecting something like this, so I think I'll throw a little wrench in her plans

"No" a short, curt response, I doubt she'll like it very much

"W-What? Why?"

"I'm not looking for a relationship."

"B-But..."

"See ya"

 **{The Devil left}**

She's probably gone to report to Gremory about the Fallen. Heh, I wonder how she'll handle it.

* * *

 **[She's still outside you know]**

I know... geez she just doesn't give up. *sigh* she really doesn't take rejection well

 **{You gonna sort it out?}**

Nah, I'll probably just leave her out there.

 **...**

I guess it'll be simpler in the long run, but I really don't wanna waste my Sunday on a boring date.

 **...**

*sigh* fine, but if things go EXACTLY the way I said, then you owe me.

 **...**

If I'm right, I want another portion of your power unlocked

 **{Issei... you really think that Kurama would make such a risky bet?}**

 **...**

 **{WHAT!}**

HA! Game on! So we're agreed; If I win, then you'll give me another portion of power, but if you win, I'll give you control of the Great Fox form for three hours to do with as you please, as long as you don't destroy anything.

 **[Kukuku, this is getting interesting. Just so you know, that Devil returned, she probably followed the Fallen here]**

Alright then, let's do this... "Do you mind telling me what you're doing out here?"

"O-Oh, Hyoudou-kun... I didn't know you'd be around here"

"You've been stood out there for a while, are you sure you didn't know I lived here?"

"U-Um, sorry... it's just, I really wanted to go out with you"

"So you followed me home? *sigh* fine, we'll go on one date, and only one, but as friends, this doesn't make us a couple. If it goes well then maybe we'll go out on more dates."

"R-Really!? Thank you Hyoudou-kun."

"Just call me Issei. I'll see you on Sunday, eleven sharp, by the clock tower."

"O-Okay, see you then... boyfriend" finally, she's gone, looks like the Devil went away too.

 **{Sunday then...}**

 **[I don't see why you didn't choose Saturday instead]**

 **...**

That's right, I don't plan on playing dead, so I'll kill the Fallen Angel when she makes her move. And when Gremory realizes I haven't called her to save me, she'll think I'm dead, but she'll be in for the shock of her life when I show up in school the next day. If we go out on Saturday, then it won't work. Besides, I'm going to see Azazel on Saturday to collect my order.

 **{It's finally finished?}**

 **...**

Hey! I'm not lazy, I just haven't had the time to train. I have school in the daytime, and I have a shop to run for the rest, and that's just for appearances. With this I can train while I sleep, and actually feel the effects on my body instead of having to work twice as hard for it to mean anything.

 **[I guess so. It will still leave you exhausted when you wake up, but you can recuperate during school]**

 **{If I were you, I'd spend Saturday night preparing for the next seal to be broken. You know how bad it gets when more is unlocked}**

Yeah, I guess so. How many seals are left anyway?

 **...**

SERIOUSLY!? So I've only unlocked six out of thirty? *sigh* I really have a long way to go huh? What's the record so far?

 **[So far... Issei: 6, Kurama: 124 and two of those wins were using cheap tactics]**

Hey, what matters is that I won. Anyway, I'm off to bed, goodnight guys.

 **... [Yep] {'Night}**

* * *

 **(Occult Research Club)**

 **Normal POV**

Inside the ORC, was a small girl with a petite figure, wearing the Kuoh academy uniform, stood opposite Rias to report her mission. She had white hair in a bob cut with two cat-shaped hair clips on either side of her head "Good job Koneko. Seems like the Fallen Angel really is out to kill him" Koneko nodded and moved to one of the Sofas with a bag of sweets "Did you sense anything from him while you were there?"

"...Nothing seemed off about him, just a normal human ...but he had a dragon's scent."

"A Dragon's scent? Maybe he has a Dragon type [Sacred Gear], thank you Koneko."

"Your intuition was right, so what now Buchou?" the question came from a blonde-haired girl wearing the same uniform as the others, though she didn't have the figure of Rias or Akeno, she was still attractive in her own right; perky bust, round butt and a tomboyish attitude earned her the moniker "Princess of Kuoh"

"We leave him be. I'll have my familiar hand him a flier before their date, so it's all up to him in the end. We can't exactly get in the way, lest the Fallen Angels see it as an act of war."

"I understand Buchou" the blonde said with a hint of sadness in her voice

"Is something wrong, Yumi?"

"N-No, Buchou. I'm fine."

"Ara, Ara. Does Yumi have a crush?" Yumi's face turned a deep crimson at Akeno's accusation

"N-No! Why would you say that!?"

"You can't fool me Yumi. I can't say I blame you though, from what the rumours say, he's got quite the body."

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" despite her outburst, Akeno still looked amused, but that quickly changed when she saw the serious look on her blonde companions face "A while ago, when we were passing by each other, I looked at his eyes and saw... pain."

"Pain? What do you mean?" Rias asked curiously, Akeno and Koneko were also listening intently

"I'm not sure... I just felt like... like he felt the same things I did when I was with the Church, like he wasn't treated like a human being, but an item." Rias had a saddened look after hearing it

'Yumi went through so much at the Church... so what could've happened that made him feel like that?' Rias turned to face the window 'Whatever it was, I'll ask about it when he joins us.'

* * *

 **FINISHED! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as I said earlier, I'm going to be following canon, but not so much that it's a carbon copy of the LN. Also yes, Fem Yumi cause I thought it would be better for what I have planned in the future, I was thinking of Fem Vali too, but I'm not completely sold on that idea, so let me know what you think. R &R! Shadow Out!**

 **I didn't want to put this at the start since it would've given away some of the characters, so I'll put it here instead:**

 **[] - Ddraig Speaking**

 **{} - Tenma Taro Speaking**

 **... - Kurama Speaking**


	3. The Not So Long Awaited Date

**Here's the next chapter, I was planning on alternating the updates on my two stories but I'm having a little trouble working out what I want to write so I decided to carry on with this. Also I want to thank you all for the positive feedback to the last chapter, one of the main reasons I started this story was so I could try a different approach to WDOD. Finally, something was brought to my attention that I didn't explain before, thanks to SatanPie for pointing it out; the power levels of Kurama and Tenma Taro.**

 **I already replied to him in a PM, but I'll write it here too; before they were sealed, Kurama and Tenma were within the top 15 strongest, but still weaker than Ddraig and Albion who were sixth or seventh if I recall correctly. When they were sealed, Tenma lost half of his power when he used it to keep Issei alive during the sealing, and Kurama had to place multiple seals on his own power so Issei didn't die from the pressure, but Issei has to earn the power by beating Kurama in battle, or in this case, a bet.**

 **Enough talking, on with the story, enjoy!**

 **I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

 **[] - Ddraig**

 **{} - Tenma Taro**

 **... - Kurama**

* * *

 **(Kuoh Town)**

 **Issei POV**

*YAWN* Where is Yuuma? You would think that a girl who wanted to go out with me bad enough to stalk me home, would show up a little early for the date she practically begged for, or even tell you her name before she asks you out. Hey Kurama, is my body ready for the next seal to be broken?

 **...**

Great, at least something good will happen today... *sigh* last night's training really left me worn out.

 **{That's because you had to compensate for all the time you've spent without training, so expect the same for the next month}**

It's a shame that my regeneration doesn't restore stamina, it'd be much easier making it through the day after a session like that.

 **[I wouldn't think you'd have a need for stamina regeneration, your fights with Kurama last an hour at a time, and you've never lost due to exhaustion]**

I guess so, but he never goes all out, if he did the fight wouldn't last nearly as long. *sigh* 11:15! I'm giving her five more minutes, then I'm going...

"Please take one!" huh? Oh a familiar, hmm... Ah, it belongs to the red head.

"No thanks" she looks shocked, I thought people never took flyers from strange people in the street.

"I insist, please take one" quite the expression... thinking on it I probably should, if the Fallen comes now she'll get suspicious and most likely will do something rash.

"Whatever" let's see, Gremory crest inside a magic circle with the text "Your wish will be granted" oh how the mighty have fallen; they used to be soul stealing monsters universally feared by all, now they've been demoted to the equivalent of a door-to-door salesman, selling cheap parlour tricks for cash.

 **[What're you gonna do with it?]**

Eh, I'll probably just trash it... then again, I could give it to the Fallen Angel just to see her reaction

 **{I second that!}**

"ISE-KUN!"

* * *

 **Normal POV**

"Sorry if I'm late" Yuuma said hurriedly, as she got closer Issei got a good look at her attire; a black dress with a short purple jacket over the top.

"I thought we agreed to meet at eleven on the dot. You're almost twenty minutes late." Issei statement was followed with a small glare, causing the Fallen to flinch

"S-sorry... I had a little trouble deciding what to wear to our date" Issei sighed and nodded

"Apology accepted." Yuuma seemed to calm down after that "So where to?"

"Huh?" Issei rolled his eyes

"Where are we going first?" Yumma looked around nervously

"Um, uh... I don't know, should I have thought of a place? I was going to ask where you wanted to go"

'Surely she would have thought that my reluctance to date her also meant that I didn't want to go anywhere. Looks like her plan is unfolding... she tried to make me fall for her by taking me on a date and making me choose the location so I would undoubtedly have fun, only so she could kill me in the end... Oh I'm going to have so much fun killing her later!' Issei stared at her blankly "You were the one who stalked me all the way to my house, so I'm pretty sure that responsibility falls on you."

"R-right!" Yuuma gulped 'Damn it! Why did I have to follow him home? I could've killed him days ago if I'd just waited!' she thought to herself, but was cut off from her musing when she took notice of the small leaflet in Issei's hands "Issei-kun... what's that you've got there?" she was trying to hide the edged tone in her voice, Issei inwardly smirked when he heard the question

"I'm not sure. A girl gave it to me a few minutes ago, so I thought it was an advertisement, but there's no address." Issei made his smirk visible to Yuuma "It looks satanic... maybe it'll let me summon the devil or something." this last comment was said while his eyes trailed to see Yuuma's reaction, which was exactly as he expected; shocked beyond belief

'HE KNOWS!? HOW DOES HE KNOW!?' she was screaming to herself in her head, but was brought back to reality by Issei's voice

"Have you thought of somewhere to go yet?"

"Huh? Oh right, I have but first... what are you going to do with that?" she pointed at the leaflet, trying not to sound anxious

"I'll throw it away when I get the chance." he then turned to face Yuuma "Don't tell me you _actually_ believe in that Hoodoo Voodoo crap?" Yuuma was taken aback by his choice of words

"N-no, of course not."

"Are we going or not?" Issei said impatiently

"Y-Yes, let's go!"

* * *

 **Issei POV**

So the first place she takes me is a cheap café... not that I'm complaining, I AM quite hungry. She's probably using this as a way to stall for time, so she can plan where to go next, she seems pretty spaced out too.

 **[I guess she didn't expect you to turn the day on her]**

Yeah, she probably doesn't go on many dates, now I feel kinda bad that I have to kill her later.

 **{You feel bad!?}**

Nah, after thinking about it for a few seconds I don't feel bad at all. She's trying to seduce me, and make me fall in love with her just so she can kill me at the end, a woman like that doesn't deserve to live.

 **[I agree.]**

 **...**

No, I'll interrogate her first, and then I'll kill her. I want to find out who sent her after me, because it definitely wasn't Azazel.

 **[Any suspicions on who?]**

One person comes to mind, and while I'm sure you know who I'm thinking of, I'll have to keep it to myself until I have proof.

 **{There can't be many options since no one but Azazel knows who you are}**

I know, and since he hasn't told anyone who I am, the only reason a Fallen would try and kill me would be because of Ddraig.

 **...**

I doubt it, I changed my appearance precisely for that reason. There's no chance that anyone from Qlippoth will recognize me, neither will anyone who saw me when I killed.

 **[That really only leaves one person, that is assuming the Fallen Angel is under the orders of a Cadre]**

 **{What is she doing?}**

Wow... really? Well, she's apparently thought of somewhere to go next if she's showing off her cleavage like that.

 **[Not bad...]**

Ddraig, stop being so perverted! Besides she's gotta be at least a few thousand years younger than you

 **[When you're an immortal being, or soul in my case, age is just a number that means absolutely nothing]**

"Hehe, like what you see~?" wait, what? When did my eyes get down there? And wipe that stupid grin off your face.

 **[Kukuku...]**

Damn it Ddraig, you said you wouldn't do stuff like that without my permission

 **[It was too hard for me to resist, besides, I think we should use her own plan against her]**

Then I'd be no better than she is, we stick to our own plan Ddraig.

"Do you really like the view that much?" Oh right, the girl

"Sorry, I spaced out. And if you're trying to seduce me so we can go out again, it's not working so you should button up your shirt." What's with the wide-eyed stare? Just because I'm a male doesn't mean I'm a pervert

"U-Uh, right s-sorry!"

"So you've thought of a place to go next?"

"Oh yes, I wanted to go out shopping." Typical...

* * *

 **Normal POV**

It was later that day, it was approaching dusk and the two were walking side by side after hours of shopping, or as Issei put it "Torture" 'Ugh, I REALLY regret following him home the other day. If I'd just killed him when he was alone, I wouldn't have had to sit through this boring date. Not to mention the fact that he's obviously not interested in me if his lack of blushing and blank face is any indication. I mean seriously, he showed NO reaction whatsoever at the café when I bent over the table, but to make it worse, when I walked out of the changing rooms in nothing but skimpy lingerie, he just looked at me and SHRUGGED! Oh well, I'll feel much better when he's face down choking on his own blood!'

Yuuma ran forward to the front of the fountain in the park and turned with an obviously forced smile on her face I had a lot of fun today Ise-kun"

"That makes one of us..." Issei muttered to himself 'Honestly, I think this'll be the most fun part of our little "date"'

"To commemorate this day, could you do something for me?"

"Sure, why not. It wouldn't be the first time you've asked that question today." Yuuma ignored his remark and moved closer so she could whisper in his ear

"Would you die for me"

"I'd rather not"

"It's a shame, since you don't have a choice." with that, she unfurled her wings and flew backwards to transform into her real form, which contrasted greatly to her disguise. In place of the meek schoolgirl, now stood a taller, more mature woman with darker and more evil eyes. Her clothing was reduced to a skimpy black piece of leather that circled under and around her breasts, along with a thong-like piece held around her hips by three thin straps, and finalizing the ensemble were a pair of black gloves and a single shoulder guard with three spikes along it.

"I would say this is an upgrade, but you weren't much to look at in the first place." "Yuuma" sneered at him, but it quickly changed into a smirk

"Hah, say what you want, but you'll die just the same." she created a spear of light and threw it at Issei, but instead of moving out of the way or blocking, he just stood there and let the spear hit him. "So sorry, Issei, but you were a threat to us. If you want to blame someone, blame the God that put that Sacred Gear inside of you." It was at this point that she noticed something that shouldn't have happened, or rather something that should have; Issei was still standing, albeit with a pink spear jutting out of his gut, but standing nonetheless.

"Why aren't you dead!?" she asked in a panicky tone, while preparing another spear. Without warning, Issei gripped the spear and roughly pulled it out, not flinching in the slightest "W-What are you? How are you still standing!?"

"Me? I'm just a human. As for how I'm standing, well that spear was the equivalent of an insect's bite." as soon as he said this, a purple glow emanated from the wound in his abdomen, and quickly solidified leaving no trace of the injury whatsoever "Now then, I have a few questions for you, Fallen Angel Raynare"

"H-How do you know my name!? WHO ARE YOU!? I was told that you were just a mere human!"

"Don't worry... "they" weren't wrong, I am just a human. Now back to my questions..." Issei held out his hand and swung it to the right, causing a violet tornado-like wind to surround Issei, and with a large burst of light, the wind dissipated.

In place of Issei, stood a much taller man in a dark blue bodysuit, with black armour pieces along his chest, pelvis and shin areas, and on his shoulders and knees, were two spikes jutting out from light grey pauldrons. Instead of his normal feet, he was wearing two three-toed boots that melded with the shin guards. His hands were where the most change happened, on his right arm was a grey glove, the same colour as the shoulder guards, but on his left was a tri-pronged claw with three sharp red talons at the end of each digit, and at the centre of the each hand was a small green gem, embedded into the palms. Atop his head was a black and red helmet, the rear being black whereas the front was in the style of a bird, with two eyebrow-like pieces jutting out above the eyes, and just below them, were a pair of yellow orbs that stood out among the rest of the eye, which was pitch black. Attached to the back of the pelvis guard was a long katana in it's sheath, and sprouted behind his back were black feathered wings even darker than Raynare's.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself; my name is Raven, and I'm a mercenary. As for the [Sacred Gear] I hold the power of Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor."

"R-Raven... NO! It's impossible! What would the most feared mercenary in this world be doing in a school, in this small town?" Raynare was in denial, not wanting to believe what she had heard.

"I'm on a mission, from Sirzechs Lucifer. Now then, I want to know why you tried to kill me?" instead of answering, she spread her wings and attempted to fly away, but promptly fell down when she crashed into Issei, who had intercepted her flight "Now now, I answered your questions, now it's your turn. I'll put it in a way you would understand; answer my questions and you'll make things easier for yourself, however, if you choose not to, then I might have to resort to more... forceful methods." Once again, Raynare ignored his advice and attempted to skewer him with a pair of light spears, but of course, it did nothing to him. Issei just caught the spears and shook his head, approaching Raynare slowly, said Fallen was cowering in fear on the ground, slowly crawling backwards to try and escape him, but she soon collided with the base of the fountain, leaving her with nowhere to go.

"It didn't work the first time, so what made you think it would now?" Issei was now stood in front of Raynare, the two spears still in hand "Final offer, answer my questions, and you won't be tortured."

"I-I'll never answer you!" while she was trying to sound tough, it was impossible for her to mask the fear in her voice. Issei just sighed at her answer, he then raised the spears and stabbed it through her wings, then dragged them down, creating a large gash in both of her wings. Yuuma found herself unable to move due to Issei's powers, though she had no idea why, all she could do was lie there, screaming in pain. Issei removed the spears and raised them to injure her even further "W-wait! Please... you said... if I talk, then you'll let me live?"

"If you tell me what I want to know, then it'll be easier for you in the long run" still shaking, Raynare nodded slowly. Seeing this, Issei lowered the spears "My first question is; why did you try to kill me?"

"I was ordered to. My mission was this: 'Kill the boy known as Issei Hyoudou, a powerful Sacred Gear was sensed within him, so he is to be killed before he becomes a threat to us'." Issei nodded at this information

"Who gave you the mission?"

"I-it was Azazel-sama who told me to do it."

"Bullshit, I know for a fact that Azazel would never order my death, so I want to know who gave you the order _directly"_

"Well, Kokabiel-sama told me to monitor you on behalf of Azazel-sama, but then about a week ago, he told me that the mission was changed, and that you had to be killed."

"I knew it... Azazel is... was, the only person who knows who I really am, he also knows about my Sacred Gear so there's no reason for him to give those orders. Kokabiel, however, doesn't know me, so when he sensed the Sacred Gear in me, he grew fearful and wanted me dead. You haven't been following the Grigori's orders, you've been part of a rogue group the entire time."

"I-I've answered your questions... so you'll let me go now right?"

"I never said that, you're still going to die."

"Wh-What? But you said-"

"I said that it would be easier for you to co-operate, I never once said I will spare you."

"B-But I was acting under false orders! I never knew that they weren't from Azazel-sama!"

"Somehow I doubt that. Azazel is a Sacred Gear enthusiast, who would never order the death of a Sacred Gear wielder. Every Fallen Angel knows that, so you should've asked him yourself before trying to kill me." Issei raised the spears, intending to impale Raynare, but hesitated when he saw her cowering figure. 'Why is this happening? I've never felt this way before, I've never hesitated to kill someone who deserves it...'

 **[That's your conscience, partner. You're feeling remorseful.]**

'I am?'

 **{Maybe she doesn't have to die.}**

'But she knows who I am. If anyone else is told, then my life will get worse. Qlippoth will try and kill me or enslave me again. The Three Factions will do anything to try and recruit me, and I will have multiple Devils following me for the same reasons.'

 **...**

'That's possible?'

 **{Hmm... I think so. If you combined Kurama's powers and my own with your Eagle Vision, then you can find the memories and destroy them. But you'll need her consent if you want to do it, otherwise her mind will block you out.}**

'Alright then... I'll do that.' Issei lowered the spears "You have nothing to fear. I won't kill you." Raynare was shocked, the most dangerous mercenary was sparing her, when he could easily end her life right there.

"Y-You won't?"

"No... but you can't keep your memories of these recent events. It's a small price to pay, but if you refuse then I'll have no choice but to kill you."

"How much will I lose?" Issei put on a pensive expression

"You will only retain memories from before you found out who I am. Now that you know that, is there anything else you wish to tell me before I do it?"

"Yes... Kokabiel-sama told us to take in a nun with a Sacred Gear. The others will extract it on the next Sunday after she arrives."

"Thank you... Now Raynare, will you allow me to traverse your mind, and destroy your memories?"

"Y-yes, if it means that I'll live, then yes!" Issei nodded, and lifted his claws. The left hand glowed and when it faded, the claw was different, it took on an ethereal glow, and was almost entirely transparent. His eyes also changed, the once yellow orbs had changed to a deep purple colour.

"This shouldn't hurt much." Issei rushed forward and sent the hand through Raynare's head, but instead of injuring her, it just fazed through. Raynare's body became limp and her eyes were glazed over, whereas Issei had a look of intense concentration on his face and his eyes were glowing.

* * *

Issei was now in a black space, completely empty other than what looked like rolls of film flying throughout the area, each with images imprinted on them, these were Raynare's memories. Issei was surprised, this was the first time he had ever seen something like that, even when he traversed his own memories. After a few moments of searching, he eventually came across the most recent memories "I have found them... hmm, Kalawarner, Mittelt and Donahseek, her accomplices... I will save who I can, but I cannot guarantee anything. Now to destroy the memories..."

 **{Don't worry about any residual damage. As long as you are careful not to erase anything vital, she will be fine}**

"Got it!" he pulled out the katana and cut out everything between the spear throwing to Issei's transformation, and fixed the rest together "That should do it." Issei said before disappearing from her mind.

* * *

Issei pulled his claw out of Raynare's head, staggering a little as he stepped away. Raynare's body had since stiffened and her eyes returned to normal, signifying her awakening, and after a few heavy breaths she was able to sit up "Wh-What happened?" suddenly, she felt a sharp pain and held her head tightly. When it finally subsided, she looked up at Issei gratefully "Thank you... for letting me live" Raynare looked around, searching for something, or someone "Where's Ise-kun? I want to apologize to him for trying to kill him."

"The boy is fine. I changed his memories of today, so he won't remember you trying to kill him." Raynare nodded

"Just out of curiosity... what does he think happened?"

"In his mind, you got halfway through the date, and mutually agreed that it wasn't going anywhere so you broke it off and went your separate ways."

"I see. What do I do now? I almost killed a Sacred Gear wielder, and went against Azazel-sama's orders..."

"You don't have to worry about that. I spoke to Azazel yesterday, and he agreed to accept you back into the Grigori. As for your comrades, I am to give them one chance to return to Azazel, but if they don't their lives are forfeit."

"S-So Azazel-sama will accept me back?"

"Of course. He isn't heartless you know, the only reason you tried to kill the boy was because of false orders you believed to be from Azazel. If I were you, I'd lay low for a while, make sure Kokabiel doesn't find you and stay within the Grigori. Azazel has already agreed to keep you under watch until Kokabiel is dealt with."

"Th-Thank you!" Raynare bowed deeply and disappeared through a portal. Issei snapped his fingers, dispelling the barrier that he discreetly placed over Raynare's before she "killed" him, and teleported back to his home.

* * *

 **(Occult Research Club)**

Sitting at her desk with an expression that was changing from pensive to slightly distressed on her usually composed face, was Rias Gremory. She had planned to use the Fallen Angel as an opportunity to reincarnate Issei Hyoudou when he was killed, but it failed horribly; Issei never called for her. She expected him to summon her while he was dying and beg for another chance at life.

Stood behind her [King], Akeno looked forward sadly. She had every opportunity to put a stop to Rias' plan, but she didn't. She trusted in her King's instincts, at the risk of someone else's life, and she paid dearly for it.

Koneko was unusually sombre, the young Rook seldom allowed her emotions to show, but this time was an exception. When she was following Issei, she had felt something strange within him. Since she is a half-Nekomata, the presence of two Youkai gods affected her greatly, she felt strangely attracted to his scent, not that she was aware of this herself. That was probably why she felt more remorse for letting Rias continue with her plan.

Yumi was taking it worse than anyone else. She felt a strange sense of kinship with Issei, they weren't familiar with each other, not in the slightest, but she still felt a connection. It was strange, since she went through a lot during the Holy-Sword project, she never expected to feel so much sympathy for another person. The way she explained it to Rias made it seem less serious than Yumi believed it to be, and she wanted to find out what he went through to make her feel that way.

"Akeno, please inform Sona that Hyoudou has died" Rias said sadly, breaking the silence that had struck the Devils in the room

"Yes, Buchou." Akeno bowed before leaving. Rias looked over to Issei's file once more and sighed

"I was sure he was going to summon me... if I knew this was going to happen I never would've risked his life like I did."

"Buchou, it was wrong of you to just gamble with his life like that!" Rias was surprised by Yumi's outburst "Instead of warning him, you let him die, just so you could look like a hero to him!" Rias frowned

"I know... and I'm regretting it greatly. I can only imagine how his parents must feel right now..."

* * *

 **(Issei's Apartment)**

 **Issei POV**

That took a lot out of me... going through my own memories is hard enough, but someone else's is even more taxing. I guess it all worked out well in the end. Now all that's left is the redhead... I wonder what's going through her head at the moment.

 **[I'm more interested in her condition when you show up to school tomorrow]**

 **{Any bets on how they're gonna cover it up?}**

Hmm... I'm gonna say, "shot during a robbery" It makes sense since I work and live in a store, that isn't exactly unknown to the school.

 **[Mugged in an alleyway]**

 **...**

No way! That's way too cliché. The Devils would come up with something more original than that.

*Brnnng~ Brnnng~*

The phone? It's probably the school calling to inform me of my own death.

"Hello?"

" _Hello is this the Hyoudou household?"_

"That's right."

" _My name is Souna Shitori, I'm President of the Student Council at Kuoh Academy. I'm calling today to let you know that Issei Hyoudou, was killed earlier today in a car crash, I am truly sorry for your loss."_

WHAT! Dang it Kurama...

 **[Kukuku, looks like the Devils really are lacking in brain cells if they came up with something so simple]**

 **{I believe she's expecting a response Issei.}**

Oh right. "Sorry, but I highly doubt that he's dead"

" _Oh? Why might that be? We received an official report from the Police Station earlier this evening"_

"Well it can't be much of an "Official Report" since the one speaking to you now IS Issei Hyoudou!" that should get a good response

" _I'm sorry... could you repeat that please?"_

"I said, the one speaking right now is Issei Hyoudou, the boy who supposedly died in a car crash earlier today. Now if you don't mind my asking, who exactly told you that I was killed? Because I highly doubt that the Police would mistake a random dead guy for me. And if by some chance, the corpse was mangled beyond any recognition, how exactly did they identify the body as me?"

" _I'm very sorry for the confusion. I'll be sure to inform the source of this mistake that you are in fact alive."_ What? She just hung up on me!

[ **Well I don't think she was prepared to speak to a dead man.]**

 **{She probably didn't think she'd have those questions asked of her either}**

I guess so, for the generally "Calm and Composed Kaichou" she wasn't either of those things. Well, tomorrow is going to be interesting.

 **[Got that right. How do plan to get out of this one?]**

You'll just have to wait and see Ddraig, needless to say, I have a plan. But I can almost guarantee that it'll be a glorious show! Now Kurama, about our bet...

* * *

 **Chapter 3 is finished! WDOD might not be updated for a short while because of College starting up again in a couple of weeks. What I'm aiming for in this story, is to take what people have said about my other story and apply it here. For instance, some people were saddened that Issei joined the Devils, so I don't plan for that to happen here. Some people were annoyed that I follow canon a lot, so I will add quite a few story breaks in this one. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Read & Review! Shadow Out!**


	4. Meeting the Devils

**I have decided to put WDOD on hold for a short while. I haven't abandoned the story, I just need a little time to figure out where I want to go with it, so until then I will continue with FOTR. Now concerning the story itself, it's gotten some really great feedback from a lot of people so I'm actually thinking of making this my main story. As I said previously, Issei's past will be revealed over time instead of dedicating early chapters towards it and then having repeat chapters later on in the story.**

 **Another thing that I should've mentioned is that Issei might not have a Harem. This is most likely going to be a one pairing story and I have already decided who he will fall for. I am willing to change that if enough people want me to, but if I do change it, the other girls won't get as much action as the main. The only reason I don't really want to go with the harem route is because none of the girls will have gotten to know him but I kind of feel like a FemYumi story warrants him having a harem, but props to anyone who can guess the main pairing in this story.**

 **I've been neglecting the reviews lately, so I'm going to go through them all here. Needless to say it might take a while. (I won't reply to all of them, only ones that I feel the need to comment on)**

* * *

 **Kirinthor -** Glad you liked it, I thought I would try my hand at a little humour.

 **The Storm Master 657 - 1.** Thanks, that was one of my main goals for this story, to not release a slightly edited version of the Light Novel itself. **2.** He won't tear into Rias exactly, since he is trying to hide his identity.

 **MaximusMJ -** I'm not sure which timeskip you are reffering to, so I'll just reply for each scenario: **Prologue TS** \- I will be going over Issei's past in a future chapter, since I don't want any repeat chapters. **First Canon chapter to start of date -** I didn't really have a need to write out an entire week of school. **Middle of date -** I thought it would be boring for you to read about a shopping trip that neither character is interested in. About the "three companions" thing; I had plans to originally use only Ddraig and Tenma, but somewhere along the line, I added Kurama too. I'm not entirely sure why, but the only reason I can think of at the moment is because I didn't want to introduce a really important character in a backstory, and then have no interactions with that character. Yes, he will meet Raynare again, and as for the Harem thing, I already explained that in the Bold writing.

 **Sasuke75249 -** Sorry, no spoilers

 **Firestarter09 -** I know that you meant Raynare here. The reason I didn't kill her, even after saying I would, was because Issei really had no reason to, other than the fact that she knew who he was. And I figured that since I introduced a new power that lets him access memories, why not use that.

 **SatanPie -** Glad you are enjoying it.

 **Aryan810101 -** Here you go!

 **Redclaw39 -** Glad you're enjoying it. As for the Harem (If there is one), I have already decided on the main girl, and as for the Harem itself, Issei will have the same Harem as he does in Canon with a few changes.

 **DragonMaster128 -** Thank you, but I plan to stick at around 5000 words per chapter, though I may go over sometimes.

 **Chooch77 -** Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Since Kuroka is in Issei's harem in Canon, then she will be in this story if Issei does go for the Harem route.

 **ShadowKnightmare -** He will not be joining the Devil's or any of the Three Factions. He will remain 100% neutral, but he will be swayed by two other factions for reasons personal to him.

 **I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

 **[] - Ddraig**

 **{} - Tenma Taro**

 **... - Kurama**

* * *

 **(Kuoh Academy)**

 **Issei POV**

Glad to see that no one even cares that I might have died...

 **[Some of them seem disappointed]**

No skin off of my nose. Let them say what they want, it doesn't affect me in the slightest. Nothing can ruin my day, I feel a lot better than the last times I unlocked your power Kurama.

 **...**

REALLY!? Two seals just for letting someone live? I should do that more often if you're being this generous.

 **{I wouldn't get used to it if I were you. Kurama's never been one to just give things away. Back when he was still ruler of the Youkai, if anyone wanted something from him, they would have to earn it.}**

I'm really surprised that I was able to handle two seals since I only trained for one.

 **{That's because we pushed you extra hard for being a lazy ass these past six months. The amount of work you did last night should've made your body strong enough for three seals, but you'll still have to work for the rest}**

 **...**

...So two more seals... and I grow some tails? Tell me why exactly I would want tails?

 **{Youkai fight better when they have their features out. It'll also make using Senjitsu and Youjitsu a lot easier for you}**

I'm not a Youkai though.

 **[Actually, you're about 10% Kyuubi, Tengu and Dragon and 70% Human. When Tenma used his powers to keep you alive, it changed your body structure again, and since the fifth seal was unlocked, it was changed once more]**

Wow, I had no idea.

 **{Speaking of race, I found something... interesting, to say the least. I went with Kurama when he unlocked the two seals last night and decided to look around. I found another seal nearby, and it was neither Kurama's nor Rizevim's.}**

So... someone else locked away my powers, the only question is who?

 **...**

 **[He's right. For now we should just concentrate on what Gremory plans to do.]**

It's fine, I already know what I'm going to do with her.

 **{As expected of you. I don't suppose that you'll tell us what it is?}**

No, you'll have to wait. Of course what I do also depends on when she decides to speak to me, but I can say that I'm going to play hard to get.

 **[She's not gonna like that very much]**

That's all part of the plan Ddraig. She'll get angered when I refuse to meet with her and then when her bratty attitude really shines, she'll do something rash in an attempt to seduce me or something equally stupid, and when that happens, my plan will go into action.

 **[Ah, I'd almost forgotten how mischievous you can be.]**

"Ah, Hyoudou. It's... good to see that you aren't dead. I was worried when I received the report from the Student Council yesterday." from his tone I can tell he really wasn't bothered that I was apparently killed.

"Thank you for your concern, Sensei. I was also quite surprised when I heard that I was killed."

"Hahaha. I'll see you at third lesson Hyoudou." I really don't like that man... *sigh* update on the Devils?

 **{They seem to be going about their days as usual. Gremory and her [Queen] are still in the old school building, and the other two are in their classrooms. It seems like she's going to approach you later on in the day.}**

Yes, you might be right. Either that or she plans to interrogate me before classes start. Ah, one more thing to do...

*whsttt~* ah, here she is.

"Taka, I need you to do me a favour. Go sit outside of the Occult Research Club and keep an eye on the Devils for me, but stay hidden okay?"

 _Yes, Issei-sama..._

"Thank you, make sure to keep them in your vision, and listen in if you can. I'll get you a good treat later, okay girl? And how many times have I asked you not to call me that?"

 _Sorry, Issei-sa-, uh, I mean Ise. I'll see you later._

It's kind of a shame that we haven't spent much time together recently, I know she's missed having me around. Hmm... then again, if I play my cards right, we might just be able to.

*sigh* yet another boring day at Kuoh Academy.

 **{Well, it's not like you have anything better to do.}**

Really? Weren't both you and Kurama calling me a lazy ass for not training? I could've used that time to make some serious improvements instead of wasting time "learning" what I already knew.

 **[That was one thing that took me by surprise. When Tenma began teaching you, it took you barely a year to reach High-School level.]**

Hey Tenma, you remember what you said about that strange seal? The one that was completely different from Kurama's?

 **{Yeah, what about it?}**

This might sound strange, but... what if the thing behind the seal is what caused it?

 **{An interesting theory... I'll look into it, but you could be right. Whatever's behind that seal very well could be the cause of your abnormally advanced intellectual properties}**

Thanks. School is about to start, so it looks like Gremory won't do anything until after school has finished.

* * *

 **Normal POV**

 **[Looks like you were right. The girl hasn't approached you at all.]**

'Yeah, but she was looking at me with that smug grin on her face at lunch.'

 **{Heads up, one of the Devils are coming}**

'Let the games begin...'

"Kyaaah! It's Yumi-chan!" "The princess is here!" "Sorry the place is a mess!" the girls and boys of the class were sent into an uproar by the appearance of the school's princess

"No, that's quite alright." Yumi replied in a voice that suggested she was used to these types of questions 'So Gremory sent the princess to fetch me eh?' "I'm looking for Hyoudou Issei. Is he here?"

""""WHAAAAAT!?""" The class screamed in perfect unison, almost as if it was rehearsed "Yumi-chan, why would you want to talk to that evil man? Please, we can't allow you to be tainted by that murderer." 'Murderer huh? Well... I guess they aren't wrong.'

 **[Enough with that! You know as well as I do that you had no choice in the matter. Rizevim was controlling you!]**

 **{He's right Issei. That bastard made you kill those people, you can't blame yourself for what happened in the past.}**

"You're Hyoudou Issei-kun, right?" Issei was broken out of his reverie by her voice

"What do you want?"

"Grr... that bastard, he's so rude to our Yumi-chan!"

"I need you to come with me. Buchou wishes to speak with you." Issei smirked inwardly

"Buchou?"

"Ah, my Buchou is Rias Gremory. Come with me please." 'Now to throw a wrench in the works'

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why does she want to speak to me?"

"I can't really talk about it here. All will be made clear when we get to the clubroom."

"No" her confident façade was all but gone, as she wasn't expecting that answer at all. Issei stood to leave but was intercepted by Yumi

"B-But why not? I must insist that you come with me."

"I'm not interested in going anywhere with you, unless you tell me why she wants to speak to me."

"Sh-She wants to know you better..." it was obvious in her tone that it was a complete lie

"I somehow doubt that." this caught Yumi's attention

"What makes you say that." she was still nervous, not liking where the conversation was heading at all

"In the six months I've been here, she hasn't so much as glanced in my direction. What makes you think that I would even consider the possibility, that she "wants to know me better", hmm?"

"I-I, uh..." Yumi was sweating bullets. She had gone there to collect Issei, without even thinking of the possibility that he would refuse.

"I'm busy anyway." and with that, he left the classroom, completely ignoring the hateful glares of his classmates.

"Buchou won't be very happy about this." Yumi muttered to herself before she left to report to Rias

* * *

 **(Occult Research Club)**

Sitting in her desk chair, was Rias Gremory, eyes closed and a confident grin on her face. When she had been informed by Sona Sitri, better known by her alias Souna Shitori, that Issei wasn't dead, she was shocked beyond belief. He was followed by a Fallen Angel, he was supposed to have been killed for his Sacred Gear, and he was supposed to call her so she could save him, but that never happened, so she could only assume that he never wished to be saved.

She had been contacted by Sona soon after sending Akeno to inform her of Issei's death, but after receiving the news, she was both ecstatic and confused. This boy, he was a normal human who should be dead, this was what confused her. Her thoughts ran wild, she could only wonder why he still lived. Maybe he fought back and won, the rumours did say that he spent time in prison, and many people suspected it was because of murder. Even so, a human wouldn't stand a chance against a Fallen Angel, so maybe she was completely wrong about her motives, or maybe there wasn't a Sacred Gear in him at all. So many questions ran through her mind, and she was determined to get them answered by the boy himself.

When she heard the knock on the door, she knew her confusion would be short lived, and she was sure that who she believed was going to be her new [Pawn] would be a good addition to her peerage. But the one thing that bothered her more than the Fallen Angel, was whether or not the rumours were true. If he really did go to prison, if he really did murder someone, then she was unsure whether or not she wanted him in her peerage, or rather, she didn't know whether or not to let him roam free. She truly didn't care whether or not the rumour mill had even a margin of truth to it, she would do anything to break free from her arranged marriage.

A knock at the door drew her attention, but she didn't open her eyes. The confident grin that started to fade as her thoughts raged on was reapplied once more "Buchou, I'm here."

"Come in." she called out. The door opened revealing Yumi on her lonesome, which confused the ORC members already present, other than Rias who was completely oblivious to the fact that Issei wasn't there "Welcome, Hyoudou-kun to the Occult Research Club." there was an awkward silence after she spoke, and curious as to why, Rias finally opened her eyes. After taking in the scene before her, she couldn't help but feel like something was missing. 'Let's see... Akeno's here, so is Koneko, and Yumi just got here with... wait' "Where's Hyoudou-kun?"

"I-I'm sorry Buchou. I tried but he refused to come meet you" Yumi said with her head down

"Did you tell him why I wanted to meet with him?"

"I couldn't say why exactly, there were too many people around us. I just told him that you wanted to get to know him, but he still said no."

"Did he say why?"

"Yes. His exact words were "In the six months I've been here, she hasn't so much as spared a glance at me. What makes you think that I would even consider the possibility that she wants to know me better?" and then he said he was busy anyway when he left" Rias sighed

"It's alright Yumi, we'll have to try again tomorrow."

"What if he still doesn't come?" Akeno asked as she poured some tea for Yumi

"If we pester him enough then he might give in and come here. If he still hasn't given in by Friday, then we'll just have to use force or at least the threat of force."

* * *

 **(Kuoh Academy - Friday Afternoon)**

'They really need to learn when to give up. Not only are they bothering me constantly about meeting the redhead, but she also sent the cat after me every day to see what I was doing.' Issei thought as he left his classroom

 **[I don't know why you're complaining, you were the one who decided to ignore them]**

'Yeah, I just didn't think she'd be this persistent. She's no better than Raynare was, she really doesn't handle rejection well, you'd think that after the first time I said no, she'd just stop bothering altogether.'

 **{This is a Devil you're talking about. Beings known for their greed, there's no way she'd give up so easily if she thinks you have a Sacred Gear}**

'I guess so. *sigh* I'd prefer it if they didn't follow me tonight though... it's their anniversary today.'

 **...**

'It's fine, Kurama. I'll just have to get away from her before I leave.'

 **{Heads up! This time she's sent two of them}**

'Right.'

"Hyoudou Issei" Issei turned at the call of his name, and saw Yumi and Koneko approaching, Koneko looked emotionless, as per the norm, but Yumi had a stern expression, which seemed unnatural for the blonde "Buchou demands to see you. If you don't come with us, then we'll have to use force."

Hmm... this might work in my favour. If I can get this over and done with, then I'll be left alone later on "Whatever. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you all leave me alone." even Koneko was surprised at how easily he consented, but the two nodded nonetheless and escorted him to the old school building.

The trio walked through the main doors, and after navigating a few flights of stairs, arrived at a door that was even larger than the main one "This is the entrance to the Occult Research Club. Our Buchou has been eager to meet with you." Yumi explained, taking note of Issei's dull expression

"I still don't see why she wants to meet me all of a sudden. Anyway, can we hurry this up? I've got somewhere to be later on and I can't miss it." Koneko looked at him suspiciously. She had been under orders to follow him until he met with the ORC, to see what how busy he really was. What she found was exactly what Rias suspected; Issei just went home and stayed there. Now they all knew that Issei lived in the same building as the store, but they always thought that it belonged to Issei's parents, so the confusion was understandable.

That's right, no one in the school actually knows that Issei's parents are dead, and have been dead for thirteen years, it was especially obvious because he often heard some of the students talking about how disappointed his parents must be to know that their son is a criminal. The only reason they think Issei's parents are still living is because he wasn't allowed to enter the school legally without writing the name of a parent or guardian, and since he wasn't allowed to write his own name, and writing Azazel's name would bring a lot of suspicion on him, he had no choice but to write down his deceased parents.

"Buchou, we're here!" Yumi called out as the three stepped into the clubroom. When she received no answer, she looked around curiously and noticed that the shower was running, Issei also noticed and was quick to comment

"You have a shower in the clubroom?"

"...Pervert." Koneko said harshly as she moved to her usual seat

"You must have me mistaken for someone else. I have no interest in such things." Koneko and Yumi looked slightly surprised.

"Buchou, here are your clothes" a new voice spoke. When he turned around, Issei saw the smiling visage of Akeno Himejima, the second "Onee-sama" of Kuoh Academy "Ara, Ara. Who do we have here?"

"Oh, Akeno-chan. This is Hyoudou Issei, the one Buchou wanted to meet" Yumi explained

"Ara, Ara. Of course how could I forget. Nice to meet you, I'm Akeno Himejima."

"I'm sure it is." Akeno frowned at his response

"Are you not happy being here?"

"I would've thought my constant refusal would be a sufficient answer. Nevertheless, I have somewhere to be later, so I would appreciate it if we could cut the small talk and get to the reason why Gremory-san invited me here."

"Ara, Ara. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you calling her by a more familiar title, you could even call her Buchou since I'm sure you will soon anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" Issei asked suspiciously

"Nothing, nothing at all. So where are you going that's so important?" to her surprise, she received a small glare

"It's none of your business!" Issei said, trying to keep his voice down. Akeno's smile faded, she realised that she was on a particularly sore subject for Issei

"I apologize for asking." she said with a deep bow

"It's... it's fine. You had no idea of knowing."

"Oh, hello there." it was at this time, Rias finally appeared from the shower, though

"Finally." Rias raised an eyebrow at his response

"What do you mean "Finally"?"

"The woman so eager to meet me decides to take a shower right before I get here. Why is that?" Rias looked around nervously

"I-I didn't get a chance to shower before school, so I had one when school ended."

"Really? You could've easily showered when you were in here earlier. I know you were in here."

"Wh-What! How do you know that!? Have you been spying on me!?" the others looked just as shocked

"Not exactly. I haven't been spying on you, but I sent Taka to watch you, seeing you sent the kitten after me."

"The kitten?" Rias asked confused, to which Issei pointed at Koneko

"The name "Koneko" means "kitten" right? I've seen her following me for the past few days, by your command I believe, she doesn't really seem like the type to stalk people you see." Rias looked at him suspiciously

"How did you know she was following you?"

"So you admit it?" Issei said with a grin

"Tell me now!" when she shouted, his smirk disappeared completely

"Truth be told, I didn't." Rias gulped "I saw her once or twice on the way home the other day. Just to make sure I walked into a few stores, and she was there too. You've just confirmed my suspicions for me, so now _I_ demand that you tell _me_ why you sent her to follow me!" the others looked between the two interested in the conversation. They had fully expected it to go entirely in Rias' favour, but Issei completely turned it against Rias, and they hadn't even gotten to the main part of the discussion yet.

"I wanted to know if you were lying when you told me you were busy, and it turns out that you were!"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Koneko-chan told me that you just went straight home after school, so you lied when you said you were busy." Rias smirked, thinking she had finally caught him out

"You do know that I live in a store right?"

"...What about it?" this time it was Koneko who spoke up

"What about it? Just think about it... I LIVE in the store. I would think the chances that I actually own the store would be pretty high. Not only do I own the store, but I work there after school." Rias looked at him with a raised eyebrow

"You own the store? Don't you mean your parents own it?" as soon as Rias said that, Issei gained a far off look in his eyes, making Rias immediately regret asking the question. After a few moments of strained silence, Issei answered

"No... I own the store. Now can you get on with why I'm here?"

"Of course, why don't we sit down. Akeno, could you make us some tea please?"

"Yes Buchou." while Akeno left the room, Rias and Issei sat on the sofa's opposite eachother, with the rest of the ORC stood close behind her. Akeno re-entered the room and placed two cups on the table before joining the others behind Rias.

"Now then, Ise-kun. I-"

"Woah, woah, hold on a second! "Ise-kun"? What are we, best friends? Should I start calling you Rias-chan, or maybe I could give you a pet name like Ria-tan." Rias turned bright red at the last name, it reminded her of her siscon brother, which unknown to her was Issei's intention

"N-No! Please not that! Sorry, Hyoudou-kun. May I call you Issei-kun instead?"

"It's acceptable, I shall just call you Rias-san, if that is fine by you."

"Yes. Now down to business." Rias put on a serious expression "Does the name Yuuma Amano mean anything to you?"

"Yes, it does." Rias never expected him to answer honestly, so she was briefly stunned

"You dated her, right?" Issei raised an eyebrow in mock confusion

"What makes you say that?"

"Just answer the question please."

"Fine, I "dated" her, if you could call it that."

"Care to clarify?"

"Not until you tell me how you know about the two of us? I didn't tell a soul about Yuuma, so how is it you know about her?" Rias was unsure how to answer, so Yumi stepped in to help

"I saw the two of you in the town on Sunday. A friend of mine goes to her school, I met her a few times, which is how I know her name." Rias sent a thankful look to her knight

"I see. So it turns out not even the schools most popular are above menial gossip. To answer your previous question, we were never technically dating, I only agreed to spend the day with her."

"Even so, you should be dead right now."

"So I've been told."

"This isn't a joke! That girl was a Fallen Angel, she went out with you so she could kill you!"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Rias was unable to gauge whether or not he was lying, his face was still the same as ever

"Then tell me what happened."

"On the date?" Rias nodded "She turned up late, we ate some food, went shopping, and I think it was around five o'clock when we both agreed that it wasn't going anywhere so we split." Rias' eyes widened 'Maybe she really didn't try to kill him. So either he has no Sacred Gear... or it just wasn't enough to deem him a threat. No, now that he's this close, I'm certain he has one, so that must mean he's lying.'

"You're lying, Issei-kun. Yuuma Amano is a Fallen Angel, who approached you so she could kill you, all because of the Sacred Gear you hold."

"Sacred Gear?"

"Sacred Gears are an irregular power that is bestowed to certain humans. For example, most of the people whose names are recorded in history are said to have been possessors of Sacred Gears. They used the power of those gears to record their names in history." Yumi explained

"Presently, there are people who possess Sacred Gears within their bodies. You know those people who play an important role worldwide? Most of them possess a Sacred Gear." Akeno added

"So, you're saying I have one of these things?"

"That's right" Rias said smiling

"You guys are way too into your occult crap, you know that? Anyway, there is one thing that's been bugging me so far."

"What's that?"

"Assuming I believe any of this, and assuming that Yuuma really did try to kill me, how would you know?"

"I knew, because the Fallen Angels never approach humans unless they are a threat to them, and I'm sure they wouldn't risk entering my territory unless it was absolutely necessary" Rias pulled a flyer out of her pocket "You remember this? This is a summoning circle. I had my familiar give you one, so that I could bring you back to life if you were killed."

"We're gonna continue this conversation under the impression that I actually believe anything you guys are saying. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds to me, like you were allowing her to kill me." Rias looked at him surprised again, and the people behind her were much the same.

'He's much smarter than I expected. First he was able to trick Buchou into confessing about Koneko following, and now he was able to deduce that she let the Fallen try to kill him... I doubt any normal person could have done that.' Yumi thought to herself

"W-We... I couldn't! If I had gotten in the way, the Fallen Angels might have seen it as an act of war!"

"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Issei rubbed his temples

"A long time ago, there was a three sided war between the Devils, the Fallen Angels, and God with its Angels followers. All three sides had a large army and they fought for almost eternity. As a result, all three sides lost most of their troops and the war finished several hundred years ago with no side winning."

Yumi was the next to speak "The Devils were no exception. Big Devils with peerage who commanded about 20 or 30 troops lost most of their underlings because of the war. They lost so many that they couldn't even form new armies."

Akeno continued next "I heard that most of the pure Devils passed away in that war. Even after the war, there are still problems between the Devils, the Fallen Angels and God. Even though the Fallen Angels' and God's side also lost most of their troops, we are still in a position where we can't let our guard down, or else we will be in trouble."

Rias took over from there "Then, the Devils decided to use a system to form a small group of soldiers. And that is the [Evil Piece]."

"Evil Piece?"

"Devils with Peerage decide to use the traits of the Human game "Chess" to their Servant Devils. It was also sarcasm, because most of the servants are Devils that were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess became a popular game in the world of the Devils. Devils who are masters are a [King]. In our case, that is me. From there, they created 5 special traits that consist of [Queen], [Knight], [Rook], [Bishop] and [Pawn]. Since they couldn't make an army, they decided to have a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. This system was made in the past few hundred years, and this unexpectedly became popular amongst Devils with peerage." Rias then gestured to the rest of the club members

"Akeno here, is my [Queen], my strongest servant after me. Yumi, is my [Knight], and Koneko, my [Rook]." Rias stepped over to her desk, and pulled forth a chess board. Atop the board, lay eight red pawns, a knight, a rook, and a bishop piece. The redhead picked up one of the pawns and rolled it between her fingers "Now I would like to ask you a very serious question, Issei-kun." Issei raised an eyebrow lazily, the look in his eyes easily showed that he was uninterested in everything he was just told.

"Go for it."

"Join my peerage. Allow me to reincarnate you as a Devil of the house of Gremory, and become my servant." the confident smile that she had once lost, found it's way back onto her face.

"Let me get this straight. What you're saying is you are all Devils, Yuuma, a Fallen Angel, tried to kill me for some magical power inside of me. Now assuming this isn't just a bunch of bullcrap, you were willing to let her kill me, and now you are offering to enslave me? You really need your head checked, as do the rest of you. Now if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be so I'm leaving." Issei stood from the couch, but before he could leave, Akeno, moved to block the door.

"I'm sorry Issei-kun, but you can't leave. Not until my questions have been answered." Issei levelled a small glare at her, and the redhead flinched under his gaze

"Fine, but I want the windows open. I'm feeling a little too hot at the moment, so I would appreciate some fresh air."

"Yumi, open them please." the blonde did as Rias asked and returned to her position behind the couch

'Taka, can you hear me?'

 _Yes, what is it Ise?_

'The windows are open, so I need you to sneak in and search the drawers for my file. I have a feeling she got it from Sitri, and if so we can use this to our advantage.'

 _Will do._

"I will answer one question, so you'd better make it count." Rias nodded

"Are the rumours true? Did you really go to prison?" Issei sighed

"If you have to ask that question, then you don't deserve to hear my answer. Anyone with a brain could tell that it was a story made up by some jealous perverts. Apparently the majority of people in this school have the mental capacity of a toothpick if they choose to believe such a ridiculous lie."

"So... you didn't go to prison?" Issei sighed yet again

"You're up to date on the rumours right? What was it people say I was arrested for?"

"Murder. I remember some of the girls were calling you a murderer when I spoke to you on Monday" Yumi told him

"Right, Murder. I'm seventeen right now, and the minimum sentence for murdering someone, is ten years. Are you really suggesting that I murdered someone and went to prison, at the age of seven? As I said, anyone with a brain would be able to see that the rumours are wrong." after Issei's explanation, the group as silent, all berating themselves for believing such sordid rumours. After a few moments, Akeno broke the silence

"Then why didn't you say anything?" all eyes were on Issei when she asked

"Because I don't care what they think about me. Honestly, I would prefer it if people didn't like me, it stops them from getting involved with my life."

"Why wouldn't you want people in your life? You must get lonely sometimes."

"The only friend I need is Taka."

"Taka? Who's that? I've never met someone in the school with that name." Rias was confused by the smirk on Issei's face

*whsttt~*

The others raised an eyebrow when they heard him whistle, but that faded into surprise when they saw a brown hawk fly onto his shoulder, what was even more surprising was that it was holding a brown folder in its beak. Issei took the folder from Taka and scratched her neck, then turned to introduce her "Everyone, this is Taka." it took a moment for Rias to collect herself. The friend Issei had been talking about, the one who he sent to watch her, was nothing more than a hawk with a fancy neckerchief. It was at this point, she finally realized that Taka was carrying something, and gave it to Issei.

"Issei-kun, what's in that folder?" Rias was slightly worried. What he was holding, looked exactly like the student files. What worried her even more was the evil smile on his face

"Oh, this? I thought you already knew, since it was in your drawer. It's my file, the one that should be in the student council office right now. So not only did you send people to stalk me, but you also stole the file containing my personal information!" Rias reeled back

"STOLE! I didn't steal your file!" she shouted back insulted

"Really? Then tell me how you had access to information that only the teachers and the student council have access to? Because I highly doubt either of them would just give it to you!" Rias was calm in most situations. She was never one to lose her cool so easily, but her pride as a Gremory shone through, she refused to be accused of thievery

"I'm no thief! I ASKED Souna if I could take a look at your file, and she gave it to me!" Rias gasped and covered her mouth "I wasn't supposed to tell you that..." the other Devil's facepalmed

"I thought so. I'll be paying a visit to Kaichou before I leave then. Goodbye, Rias-san. Oh, and don't worry, I'm not gonna tell anyone about your stalker-like tendencies or your weird role playing fantasies, as long as you make sure not to bother me again" and so, Issei left for the Student Council room.

* * *

"What an interesting boy." Akeno spoke amused, whereas Rias just sighed and walked over to her desk

"Such a shame. I was hoping to have a powerful new peerage member."

"What makes you sure that he would be powerful?" Yumi asked curiously

"It has to do with what Koneko told us. You said he has the scent of a Dragon right?" Koneko nodded in response "Well, I have a feeling that the Sacred Gear within him is a Dragon-type, and if I'm right, then he may have one of the Longinus within him. Not only that, but his file said that he got 100% on the entrance exams twice. Apparently they made him re-do them because they thought he cheated. Not even Sona could get that high of a score" they all looked at Rias shocked

"Are you sure? If the Fallen didn't kill him then they must've thought he wasn't a threat. Knowing that, are you still sure it's a Longinus?" Akeno spoke unsure

"I'm certain. The only reason she would not have killed him, is if the signal was weak."

"Weak? You don't mean..."

"That's right. I suspect that he has already awakened his Sacred Gear, whether he knows or not is still a mystery."

"What do you want to do about him then?"

"We can't do anything right now. He's rejected my offer, and I can't force him to join, so whatever happens to him in the future is up to him."

"I don't think much will happen. He didn't seem to believe a word you were saying."

"I suppose so. It's such a shame though, he had so much potential... and so much pain too. You noticed it, right? His whole demeanour changed when I mentioned his parents"

"That's right, something similar happened earlier aswell. I asked him what was so important, and he looked almost angry. Do you think it could be connected?"

"It's possible... maybe we should follow him, to find out why he responded like that." Yumi spoke up with her concerns

"Buchou, are you sure that's a good idea? He didn't look very happy when you sent Koneko to follow him, so what makes you think he'll like all of us going?"

"The only reason he knew Koneko followed him was because he tricked me. As long as we're careful, he won't be able to find us. The reason for following him, is because I want to gain his trust. If we can learn the reason for his suffering, we can help him. Hopefully he will change his mind about joining my peerage, and your curiosity will also be sated, Yumi."

"I see. Okay Buchou, I'll let you know when Issei-kun leaves the school grounds."

"Thank you, Yumi."

* * *

 **Issei POV**

 **[I must say, that was quite the show]**

 **{Yeah, the look on Gremory's face when you called her "Ria-tan" was amazing}**

I thought you would enjoy it. I do feel kinda bad though, I know they're all nice people, but I really can't have them involved with my life. And if they know that I'm aware of the supernatural world, then they'll keep bothering me so I won't be able to do my usual work without risking my identity. Anyway, enough of that, we need to go see the Kaichou.

Oh, actually Taka, can you go back to the apartment and grab the flowers for me?

 _Of course, Ise. I'll be back soon_

Thanks, I'll have a nice surprise for when you get back. *sigh* that'll save me the extra trip since I can't fly back or teleport.

 **[Why not?]**

 **...**

That's right. I have an inkling that Gremory will follow me there, and I really can't be bothered to try and shake them off. For now, let's just focus on Sitri since we're here already.

 **[That was fast]**

*knock-knock*

"Come in." here we go. I see her entire peerage is here... why do they look so surprised to see me? "Hyoudou-kun? School ended over an hour ago, what are you still doing here?"

"Well, I had a nice long talk with your friend Rias Gremory."

"Really? What did you talk about?" she seems scared... ah, she's noticed the folder

"Well, she went on about some childish fantasies, and then I confronted her about sending her lackeys to stalk me home for the past few nights. I was planning to file a complaint to you about an invasion of privacy, but I stumbled upon something... interesting, to say the least." yeah, she's scared. As soon as I held up the folder she started sweating like a pig in the heat "This, is my student file. The only ones who are supposed to have access, are the teachers, the Student Council and myself. Rias Gremory told me that you gave it to her."

"Wh-What are you talking about? I would nev-"

"Save it! I already know that you were the one who gave it to her."

"Are you trying to coerce me into confessing? Because I doubt Rias would name me."

"I have no need to trick you for a confession. I already did that to Gremory, when I accused her of stealing it, she immediately refuted my claims by saying you gave it to her."

"I-I see. I apologize for my carelessness, you see I owed her a favour and-"

"I don't care why you did it. Now normally I'm not one to let these sorts of things go, so I'm willing to drop the matter on one condition." this killing intent is... pathetic to say the least. It's coming from that boy over there

 **[I sense a portion of Vritria within him.]**

Really? It's a shame, without the other parts, he'll fall to the curse.

"What's your condition, Hyoudou-kun."

"I want to bring Taka into school. I've been quite busy these past few months and she's missed having me around."

"I'm sorry, but who is this "Taka"?"

"Oh, right. Could you open your window for a minute."

"Okay..." perfect *whsttt~*

"Thanks for bringing the flowers, Taka" wait... why is Sitri blushing

*Chirr~*

"Um... Hyoudou-kun, are those for me?" oh right. Boy, girl, flowers, she probably thinks I'm courting her or something

 **[Apparently, so does Vritria's host]**

"No. I didn't expect to be coming here today. These are for... something else."

"I see... I'm sorry Hyoudou-kun, but you know the rule against pets" *sigh* I really hate when people call her that

"She's not a pet. Taka's my best friend, so I would appreciate it if you didn't call her a pet. Nevertheless, I can understand your worries, but I can assure you that Taka will cause no trouble, she's trained better than most dogs are"

"...and this is your only condition?"

"Yes. If you allow Taka to accompany me in school, then I will forget all about this little incident."

"Very well. As long as it... she, doesn't cause any trouble, I will allow her to stay with you."

"Thank you, Kaichou. I'll be leaving now."

* * *

 **(Kuoh Cemetery)**

 **Normal POV**

"Not a year goes by, when I don't think of you..." Issei was stood in front of two large gravestones that were side-by-side in a rather scarce area of the graveyard. He was currently sitting in the seiza position, placed carefully between the headstones was a bouquet of dark crimson roses "I swear, I WILL kill that man. Then, you can finally rest in peace." and with that he left with his head down, not even sparing a glance at the Devil peerage who had followed him. They all watched his retreating form slowly get smaller the further away he got, all but Yumi who moved to where Issei was sitting and gasped

"Buchou, look at this." Yumi called out, drawing the attention of Rias and the others

"What is it Yumi?"

"Look here... the names on the gravestones say "Shusiki Hyoudou and Yuko Hyoudou died April 23rd 2002". They died thirteen years ago, today... Buchou, I think these are his parents"

"But his file said that his parents are alive." Rias replied

"Then he must have lied. Think about it; two gravestones with the name "Hyoudou", both died on the same date that Issei-kun comes to pay his respects, not to mention the way he acted when you mentioned his parents. It all fits perfectly."

"I suppose you're right... wait, how old was Issei-kun when they died?" the Devils simultaneously widened their eyes in realization as they looked back to the headstone. Rias then gestured for the others to follow her and left the cemetery

"Oh, Issei-kun..." Yumi muttered to herself. After taking one last glance at the headstone, she left with the others.

* * *

 **Chapter done! This was the longest chapter yet, 8000 words exactly. Sorry there wasn't really any insight into Issei's past in this chapter, but I just wanted the ORC meeting out of the way. Anyway, if you didn't read the Authors Note, I am going to be rewriting WDOD, not entirely, I'm just going to edit all of the chapters to improve them, so chapters of this story might be delayed slightly in the near future. Read & Review! Shadow Out!**


	5. Simple Instructions

**I spent a little longer than I intended to on the WDOD edit. I planned to begin changing it every weekend starting Saturday, and then writing the next chapter of this story. As of writing this sentence, it's Thursday night. So yeah, I've done quite a lot of work on my free days, but it's not finished yet, I've updated seven chapters since starting. As for the releasing of these new chapters; when all sixteen chapters are done, I'll delete all current chapters and replace them with the updated versions. EDIT: Really sorry about the long delay. Life's been a little tough recently. Since the whole college plan sort of collapsed, I've been busy applying for jobs, and it's been really stressful since I've had no luck so far. The stress has also limited my time so I've been completely unable to edit WDOD for the past few weeks. So sorry, but the Hiatus will be continuing for a short while longer.**

 **Something I probably should've been a little clearer on was that it won't be a complete rewrite. I'm only editing the parts that I think can be improved, or even adding new parts altogether.**

 **After a fair bit of thought and more than a few reviews, I have decided that Issei will have a harem. I am sorry to say, however, that the harem won't be getting as much "screen time" as the main pairing will. In the planning stages of this story, I planned to use fem!Yumi because of a part I thought of a lot later on in the story that wouldn't fit if Kiba was male in this fic. As for the backstory, that was inspired by multiple "Dark Past Issei" fics, and the character was from my pen name. I have used the name "ProjectShadow" for a few years, and from that you can probably guess who Issei's character design is based on. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **DragonMaster128 -** Don't worry, he's going to remain neutral. Also I have already decided on the main pairing, which still hasn't been guessed correctly yet, and he will have a harem.

 **Karlos1234ify -** They deserved everything they got!

 **TheLaughingStalk -** Haha, glad you're enjoying it!

 **Minazaki -** Well, you'll be glad to hear that he will have a harem, but it won't be the centre of attention in this fic.

 **Sasuke75249 -** I... don't understand what you're saying. Either way, you'll have to wait and see.

 **NinjaFang1331 -** I'm thinking of making Yumi the next in line after the main pairing

 **SatanPie -** Yep. Stray Devil fight, coming right up!

 **Kirinthor -** I have a lot more planned for his past. Mostly pertaining to the other seal.

 **Guest 1 -** Yeah, I decided to include a harem.

 **Guest 2 -** Harem will be present in the story. Both Fem!Yumi and Fem!Vali will also be in the harem

 **Devilman -** Thanks for your kind words, but there will be a harem now. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

 **Mugetsu98 -** Already done.

 **Zeiges -** Thank you!

 **Demons Anarchy of Pride -** I... I don't know. Thank you for your kind words good sir!

 **Elveril -** Thank you, I'll try and get these out as fast as I can!

 **7137 -** Thank you. Fem!Vali is now in the story!

 **gta2001 -** Yeah, there will be a harem with almost every girl from canon and a few others added

 **I own nothing but the story.**

* * *

 **[] - Ddraig**

 **{} - Tenma Taro**

 **... - Kurama**

* * *

(Kuoh Park)

 **Normal POV**

Issei was returning home after his trip to the cemetery. His emotional state was bad, constantly changing from Sadness for his parents, Anger at Rizevim, Annoyed that the Devils followed him, but also happy, because he knew that they wouldn't bother him, at least not for a while. Of course, it was obvious that the Devils weren't going to be staying away for good, but he would cherish the time he had.

On his way home, he sensed a Fallen Angel following close behind, so he turned through the park, where his date with Raynare ended the night before. He sped up his walking in an attempt to shake off the Fallen, but as he was leaving the park, a man in a trenchcoat stepped out from beside a street light and started walking towards Issei, only stopping when his face was visible

'They just won't give up... whatever, I'm not in the mood to be dealing with this.'

"Well, would you look at that. The boy that Raynare was supposed to kill is still alive. I guess I'll have to take care of it myself." the man said cockily

"Piss off pedophile, I'm not in the mood for this crap." the Fallen Angel sneered at him

"PEDOPHILE!? You insolent Human. I, Dohnaseek, will be the one to end your pathetic life!" Donahseek created a blue spear of light in his hand as he said this. Issei glared at him harshly

"Last chance Fallen, either get out of my way, and crawl back to the leader of your rogue group, or I'll kill you so fast that you won't even be able to regret it." Dohnaseek looked a little surprised

"So you know what I am? No matter, you'll die all the same." Dohnaseek threw the spear, fully expecting it to skewer Issei, but that didn't happen. Issei moved faster than he could comprehend, the spear he threw was shattered, and Issei was now stood behind him with his hand held outwards in a knifehand chop. Issei lowered his arm and started walking away, leaving Donahseek confused, but when he tried to move, his head slowly fell from his shoulders, with his body falling soon afterwards. Issei took one last look at the dead Fallen and snapped his fingers, causing the body to ignite and burn to ashes that were blown away by the wind, leaving no trace of the Fallen Angel.

'Well, at least one good thing came of this.'

 **[What's that?]**

'I know that Raynare wasn't really the leader of the Rogue group.'

 **{Yes... we've already established that Kokabiel is in charge of them}**

'No, I mean in this town. There's no way Kokabiel would risk coming here yet, so I can only assume that he's placed another Fallen in charge of things here. I know it wasn't Dohnaseek either because he would have sent one of his grunts to do this sort of thing.'

 **{Ah, so you're saying that he put one of his subordinates in charge?}**

'That's right. Above all else, Kokabiel values power, so there's no doubt in my mind that he placed a Fallen Angel with multiple pairs of wings in charge. It would also have to be someone who shares the same mindset as Kokabiel, so it's probably one of his personal lackeys.'

 **[But when you looked through the girls memories, there weren't any Fallen Angels that match that description.]**

'That's right... hmm... Now that I think about it, one of her memories showed her being threatened by Dohnaseek. Raynare was probably forced to act as their leader so she could take the fall, while the real leader hid in the shadows.'

 **[It makes sense when you put it like that. So what's the plan?]**

'For now, we play it by the ear. If I recall correctly, an exiled nun will be arriving here soon, so I want to wait until she gets here so I can draw out the real leader.'

 **{You're going to use her as bait?}**

'No, I'm going to protect her. Raynare said that they were planning to extract her Sacred Gear. She's important to their plans, so if I take her somewhere safe then they will undoubtedly try and get her back. When the grunts fail, the stronger Fallen will be the one to fight.'

 **[That's... a really good plan]**

'Always the tone of surprise. Anyway, when we find out who is in charge of the rogue group, we'll finally have the proof against Kokabiel.'

 **{You say that as if you know he'll speak. What makes you so sure that he'll reveal Kokabiel's plans?}**

'If he doesn't speak, then he'll be tortured by someone in the Grigori.'

 **[I don't understand why Raynare's testimony wasn't enough.]**

'Raynare had no real allegiance to any of the Cadre with the exception of Azazel. So anyone could easily refute her claims by simply saying she's pinning the blame on someone else to save her own hide. Of course, Azazel and I both know that Kokabiel is the rogue leader, but without irrefutable proof, he's free as a bird.'

 **{And capturing this Fallen Angel will prove that he's gone against Azazel's wishes, since the one in charge if the rogues is a strong supporter of Kokabiel.}**

 **...**

'Of course, Kurama. We still don't know for sure if there is in fact someone else in charge, but either way, that doesn't change the plan; I'll rescue the girl and draw the Fallen Angels out of their base along with the exorcists. Worst case scenario; we don't get any proof that Kokabiel went rogue, so it's not much of a loss.'

 **{We're back. Go eat some food, we'll talk more when you enter Yume-no-Ryoiki}**

 **[I still think that name's stupid. And what about the design? If it were a necklace I wouldn't have a problem, but a pair of gold bracelets seems a little... feminine.]**

'Why? The name fits it perfectly; "Realm of Dreams", and as for the design, well at least I can't choke to death in my sleep with a pair of bracelets. Besides, I quite like the design.'

 **[I guess you're right. Anyway, hurry up and eat so we can train some more!]**

'Right!'

* * *

 **(Kuou Academy - Monday Afternoon)**

Unlike most days, this one was particularly eventful for Issei, at least it was about to be. When he walked through the front gates earlier that morning, the looks he received were considerably different than the norm, probably because of the large hawk that was perched upon his shoulder. For some reason the other students seemed even more afraid of him, even the teachers were feeling uneasy in his presence. Of course Issei just ignored them all, only paying attention when he needed to, he spent most of his time tending to Taka, who was ecstatic to be spending more time with Issei.

Issei was now on his way to a place he had never set foot in before, a place that every student would avoid if they had the choice to; the cafeteria. There was a good reason as to why he was never seen there, and why no one wanted to be there; the food is terrible. But today was different, today, something bad was going to happen. As he walked through the large double doors, he took notice of the large crowd of students in the centre of the room, and a deep voice resonating from the middle and smirked slightly before heading off for his destination. Approaching the crowd, he was able to make out what the voice was saying "What you still got nothing to say, freak?" the insult was followed by an audible splat, like something was dropped, and a round of laughter.

Issei decided that enough was enough and pushed his way through the crowds. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sona and Tsubaki making their way towards the crowd, and sent Taka to stop them, bringing them great surprise. What shocked them even more was that the bird seemed to be shaking it's head, and when they looked in the direction she came from, they saw Issei looking at them while mimicking Taka's movements, so they stayed back.

As he reached the centre of the circle, he saw both Koneko, who was looking down at the box of food that was spilled at her feet. Opposite her was one of the most notorious bullies in the school, a tall boy, who was slim yet still muscular, with light blonde hair and grey eyes. He was wearing the Kuoh uniform but it was much different than everyone else's. His top three buttons were undone, revealing the dog tags that were hanging from his was also wearing a lime green jacket in place of the school issued one.

The surrounding students stepped back as they saw Issei approaching, though it seemed like the smirking bully still had no clue that the rumoured ex-con was stood right behind him. Koneko on the other hand, couldn't be more surprised. Though her face didn't show it, she was hurting badly. She was well aware that, even though she was seen as the school's mascot, there were more than a few people who disliked her, so it came as no surprise that nobody came to her aid when the boy started pushing her, but it still hurt. The surprise came from her saviour, or who it was.

She didn't expect anyone other than the Student Council to step in, since the other's in her club always went to the club room to eat. Even her greatest "fans" didn't have the guts to step up against Kuoh's number one bully, so the sight of an absolutely furious Issei striding up to her foe confused her. She stalked him home, followed his every move for over a week, and he even knew that she did it, yet he was stepping up to defend her.

"What do you think you're doing, Shirokawa?" Naoya Shirokawa, the second most feared boy in the school, second to Issei of course. When he heard the voice, Naoya jumped and turned slowly, but calmed down when he saw it was just Issei.

"Oh, it's just you. Stay out of it Convict, this has nothing to do with you." he said waving his hand dismissively. To the other students, it looked like he wasn't scared at all, but inside he was fearing for his life. After all, he was one of the students who saw Issei shirtless, and by extension the scars and the large muscles. As soon as he saw that, the rumours started to seem more like facts to him, and if so, he had just angered a murderer. But he did his best to not let Issei, or the other students see that side of him, especially not his entourage, which consisted of the two other feared bullies.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't call me that. Now I suggest you answer my question." Issei said in a tone that promised pain if he didn't comply. Naoya gulped, which went completely unnoticed by all except Koneko who had a full view of the man. Still keeping a brave face, he turned to Issei and growled at him

"Like I said, it's none of your business!" Issei's eyes constricted, eliciting a barely audible yelp from the blonde

"I beg to differ Shirokawa. You made it my business when you started to pick on a young girl who doesn't deserve it."

"What do you care? You're just a murderer! I bet you've done way worse things!" Koneko looked at Issei sadly when she saw the other students nodding along with the bully.

"I care because she's a kind girl who's done nothing to deserve such treatment from scum like you!"

"Scum!? Why you!" Naoya sent a swift punch at Issei, faster than any of the students could follow, any normal student that is. Issei moved his head to the right to dodge the punch, planted his left leg behind Naoya's and sent his entire forearm crashing into his chest, taking the bully down with ease and planted his knee on Naoya's chest, keeping him pinned to the ground "Who the hell do you think you are!?"

"Who me? Well I'll tell you. I'm the man that punched a guy so hard, he was shitting out teeth for a week. I'm the man that scared the living crap out of a biker gang just by looking at them. And I'm the man, if you're not careful boy, that's gonna rearrange your face that bad, you're parents are gonna be asking each other tonight. Why there's a pizza. At the letterbox. BEGGIN' TO GET IN!" Naoya was shivering in fear, even the people surrounding them were scared "Do you understand me?" he could only nod "Good. Now scram, before I tie you to a street light and tell Taka to pluck you're eyes out." Naoya did as he was told, he scrambled to his feet and ran away, taking his lackeys with him.

Issei stood and brushed himself off, only now noticing that there were still people staring at him, but they quickly dispersed when Issei growled at them. Koneko didn't know what to expect when Issei approached her. She may be a devil with incredible strength, but even she was slightly shaken by what happened. "Are you alright?" shock consumed her yet again. Not only did the last person who she would expect defend her, but said person was also concerned for her.

"...Thank you, Issei-sempai." she honestly didn't know what to feel. It was then she remembered why she went to the cafeteria and looked down at the ruined food sadly, not noticing that Issei was grabbing something from his bag. She looked back up when she saw Issei offering her a bento box and stared at him surprised "For me?"

"Yeah. I made an extra one today. Enjoy." when she took the box, Issei patted her head and left the cafeteria with Taka, leaving Koneko shocked with a heavy blush on her face. The Student Council were equally shocked, Rias had told Sona about her encounter with Issei, even telling her that he tricked her into telling him that Koneko followed him home. That was when she remembered what he said to her when he took his file back "I'm not one to let these sorts of things go" so why was he being so kind to her. Koneko was thinking the same thing, and so she followed him, hoping to get some answers, and to apologize.

* * *

By the time she left, Issei was sat at the base of a tree, happily digging in to his own bento box.

 **{So that's why you made the extra one.}**

'Yep.'

 **[I must say, it was quite amusing. You never cease to amaze me, partner.]**

'Why thank you Ddraig.'

 **...**

'I know. I wasn't fully expecting her to follow me afterwards, but I didn't count out the possibility.'

"Issei-sempai." looking up, he saw Koneko holding the bento he gave her, with a heavy blush, though she looked almost ashamed of something, which was rare from the emotionless girl.

"Oh, Toujou-san. Is something wrong?"

"...I ...want to apologize. For following you home, and believing those horrible rumours."

"It's fine, Toujou-san. You only followed me under Red's orders. And it's my fault for not correcting the rumours"

"...Please, call me Koneko. ...Can I sit here?"

"Of course, Koneko-san." Issei expected her to sit on the ground next to him, and eat silently with him, but instead she decided to use him as a seat "Koneko-san... I thought you meant next to me, not on me."

"...Comfier than the floor." Issei shrugged and continued eating, which Koneko took as a sign to eat her own food, which she found surprisingly tasty. She hesitated before asking her next question, as if she were scared to hear the answer "...Why did you help? I thought you hated me?"

"What makes you think I hate you? On the contrary, you are actually one of the people I like most in this school. You were dubbed the school mascot, but you never let it go to your head or act entitled like the rest of your group does." she was about to speak in defence of her friends, but stopped when she realized that he was kind of right. Koneko hated being the centre of attention, whereas the other three seemed to relish in it.

"...I thought you hated me because I followed you." Issei looked at her sad expression and chuckled lightly

"Don't worry about it. I'm not that petty." she looked almost relieved until she realized something strange. Something that shouldn't have happened that day.

"...Issei-sempai. Why did you make an extra bento today? And if you had food, why did you go to the cafeteria?"

'She caught on quick.'

 **[What now?]**

'I'll use it to my advantage.'

"You probably won't believe me. Then again, after all that stuff was said on Friday, you probably will. Sometimes, I have premonitions, or visions of something bad that's going to happen."

"Visions? You mean you can see the future?" Koneko was shocked beyond belief. What if this was the Sacred Gear that Rias sensed, and if so it means that he had already awakened it, exactly like Rias predicted.

"Not exactly. It's not definite, sometimes it's only a possible future; something bad that will happen if it's not stopped. I had a vision last night, and I saw what happened today, so I prepared an extra meal for you." Koneko found herself blushing yet again "You know... I had a bit of time to think about what Red said in the clubroom on Friday, and I'm actually starting to believe it. She said something about those gear things right? What if this power is one of them?"

"If you believe us, then won't you join Buchou's peerage?"

"No thanks."

"...Why not?"

"I don't want to get involved in a war. If I do join a side, then I will be put in unnecessary danger. Plus I would basically be giving away my freedom to a woman who's spoken to me once in my life."

"...I understand, and so does Buchou. ...Thanks for the food, by the way." Issei rubbed her head

"Don't mention it. Think of it as a "Thank You" for caring." Koneko tilted her head in confusion "The cemetery. I know you followed me there." Koneko looked down sadly

"...Sorry, Issei-sempai. You lost your parents when you were young, right?" Issei looked away sadly

"That's right... I was four when they died." Koneko was the first person he had ever discussed his parents deaths with, so he had no idea what her reaction would be like, needless to say, he was shocked when he felt a pair of tiny arms wrapping around his large frame.

"...Don't worry. If you want to talk about it, you can always come to the old school building."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. You should hurry up and eat before the lunch is over."

"Yes, Issei-sempai." Koneko said before resuming her lunch, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Issei's hand rubbing her head.

"Could you tell Red about this? Just let her know that I don't want to get involved with the supernatural." Koneko nodded, and the two remained in silence for the rest of the lunch period.

* * *

It was later on that day. Issei was on his way home late at night after testing whether or not the improvements made in his mind carried over to his real self. Fortunately, the bracelets were working fine, Issei felt faster and much stronger than he did before. It was at this time that Ddraig decided to speak up with his thoughts, as he didn't want to interrupt Issei's training.

 **[** **You** **know, I'm surprised that you were so nice today.]**

'What? I'm emotionless, not heartless. I wasn't about to sit idly by and let her suffer. She got enough of that when she was hunted by the Devils for something she didn't do.'

 **{I agree with you there. They did it all under the delusion that one Nekoshou went insane from using Senjutsu, which might I add is impossible.}**

'That's right. Kurama mentioned something like that.'

 **{Losing control is a minor possibility, but going completely insane is impossible}**

'It wasn't Kuroka's fault either. She did what she had to to protect her family, anyone would've done the same were they in her place.'

 **[True that.]**

Issei sighed, but before he could add anything, a bright blue flash obscured his vision, stopping him in his tracks, his eyes were glowing the same colour as the flash.

* * *

 **~Vision Start~**

The vision took place in an old, run-down warehouse that looked to be abandoned. It was night-time, pitch black out. The only source of light was the full moon standing proudly in the centre of sky, it's pale light barely peeking through the holes in the ceiling. In the centre of the room, was Rias Gremory, tears flooding down her face while looking a little worse for wear. She was stood defensively in front of her servants, who were in a much worse state than she was.

Yumi was unconscious, with a large gash in her forehead, staining her blonde locks with her blood. Her left arm also appeared to be detached from her body leaving a bloody stump in it's place.

Koneko was stone-cold dead. Her head was barely attached to the rest of her body, and there was a large hole in her stomach.

Akeno was the least injured out of the three. She was missing both of her legs, which seemed to have been roughly torn off, and she was sitting in a puddle of blood, cradling Koneko's body as tears fell from her eyes.

Stood opposite the group, was the entire reason for Rias' defensive posture. A hulking figure, at least ten feet tall, with muscles the size of a freight train. A dishevelled mound of orange hair was plastered atop its head, his bottom half was covered with a pair of black pants that were close to tearing, and on his top half was a torn white shirt. The monster raised one of his large arms and brought it down on the teen Devils, completely crushing them.

 **~Vision End~**

* * *

Issei gasped as the glow left his eyes. It was rare for him to see a vision so vivid, and so dangerous.

 **[Partner...]**

 **{Another vision, right?}**

'Yeah... Gremory and the others are going to die. The only problem is, I don't know when... Huh, I didn't notice there was a full moon today... FULL MOON!?' Issei's eyes widened in shock

"TAKA!" *whsttt~* Right on cue, the hawk landed swiftly on his shoulder "I need you to go and find Gremory for me. When you find her, come straight back here and report, alright?" Taka nodded, slightly surprised in the seriousness of her master's voice, but this only spurred her on, so she flew off as fast as she could in search of the red head.

*Brnnng~* *Brnnng~*

 **{A little late for your phone to go off isn't it?}** Tenma spoke as Issei pulled out the offending item. Taking a look at the caller ID, it came as no surprise that Azazel was the one to call him.

'Maybe...' Issei clicked the answer button and held the phone to his ear "Hello?"

" _Issei, we have a new job for you from Sirzechs. An extremely powerful Stray Devil is in your area, and the Maou want you to defeat it since you're the only one nearby."_

"Details on the stray?"

" _The Devil's name is Henry Jekyll, though apparently he prefers Edward Hyde. Former [Rook} of the house of Balam. Apparently, his master deemed him too dangerous and sealed away some of his powers, and so, Jekyll killed him and the rest of the peerage in a fit of rage. As of right now, he's ranked as an A-Class Stray Devil. The parents of Dorian Balam are taking it badly, so bad that they are willing to do anything to avenge their son."_

"What do you mean 'anything'?"

" _Sirzechs told me that they are offering their entire fortune, meaning their land, their funds and their possessions. All to you so you can kill the Stray."_

"...No. I refuse to accept this payment"

" _Issei!? You realise that you can't allow this Stray to run around and kill people, it's dangerous!"_

"I said I refuse to accept the payment, not the job. Ask Sirzechs to pass on a message from Raven. "I know how hard it is, to deal with the loss of your loved ones, so I have rejected your offer. But fear not, I plan to eliminate the Stray Devil, without payment because of Dorian's early demise." that should do it. By the way, has Rias been informed of this?"

" _Yes. She has been told to stay away and to make no attempt to apprehend the Stray. Sirzechs made sure of that himself."_

"I'm afraid that the warning did no good."

" _What do you mean?"_

"I just had a vision. She and her entire peerage were all killed in battle against the Stray, and from the sounds of things, that future might not be too far away."

" _Then you'd best hurry and find her before it's too late."_

"It's fine, Taka's on her way back now with the location, so when I get there, I'll kill the stray and give her a good long lecture about not fucking up simple instructions."

" _Hahaha, I wish I was there to enjoy it. Anyway, if It's alright with you, I want to speak with you personally after you take care of this. I wanted to discuss our little rogue problem."_

"Will do Azazel. Speak to you soon." Issei hung up the phone, just in time for Taka's return. Issei donned his Raven persona and shot off for the warehouse after sending Taka home.

* * *

 **(Warehouse)**

 **Rias POV**

I'm an idiot. I should have listened to Onii-sama. Instead my foolish pride has gotten us all killed. The stray Devil was much stronger than any of us, we couldn't even put a dent in it. Yumi's barely conscious, Akeno can't stand, and my leg feels like it's been broken. Koneko looks the worst out of us all though, and from the looks of things, the stray is going to kill her... and we can't do a damn thing about it. Not even my magic works against it, all we can do... is lie here while Koneko is crushed, and wait for our turn.

...stupid...stupid...stupid... Here it comes, Koneko is going to die and it's all my fault. I... I can't watch this, the other two are also looking away, I guess they can't stand to see this either... That's odd, there should've been a loud bang or something.

"R-Rias. Look..." look? Look at what, Akeno? Against my better judgement, I looked to where I expected a dead body to be, but instead I saw a man in a dark blue body suit with black feathered wings blocking the giant arm with one hand! Is he a Fallen Angel? No, I can't sense any holy energy from him, and there's no way a Fallen would save a Devil.

Who is this man? Why did he save us? Most importantly, what is he? I can't feel any defining energy from him. He's not a Devil, there's no doubt there. And he isn't an Angel either. The only remaining option is Fallen, the wings fit, but again, there's no holy aura... but he could be hiding it. The others are no doubt thinking the same thing.

* * *

 **(A few moments earlier)**

 **Normal POV**

Raven arrived at the warehouse just in time. The girls were all injured in some way, though nothing fatal was inflicted. Opposite them, barely illuminated by the moonlight, was Jekyll with a maniacal grin plastered on his face. He stepped forward with his arm raised, and stopped in front of Koneko who was unable to move. The fist fell down towards the young Rook, who could only turn away, awaiting the blow that would end her life, the other Devils were much the same. The were all unable to reach her in time, so all they could do was avert their eyes so they wouldn't have to see their comrade crushed before them.

Raven saw this as his time to step in, and so he swiftly jumped from his spot and zipped in between Koneko and Jekyll, nonchalantly raising his own hand to block Jekyll's gargantuan fist, greatly shocking the peerage of Devils. But what surprised them even more was that the incapacitated Koneko started floating towards her master, underneath her were multiple gusts of wind, which seemed to be the reason for her movement, and they seemed to be coming from the Raven.

When he saw that the young rook had safely reached Rias, he turned to the stray and released a large blast of energy, launching the stray across the room "Henry Jekyll. Former [Rook] of Dorian Balam. You killed your master, and went on a rampage throughout the underworld and in the human world, thus the Maou sent me to take care of you. I hope you've gotten your affairs in order, because you have just incurred the wrath of the RAVEN!" as he said that, his wings spread wider than before, purple sparks could be seen flowing through the feathers.

The young Devils gasped in shock, whereas the stray reeled back in fear. The man stood before them, the one who saved Koneko's life, was THE Raven. The most feared mercenary in the supernatural world, and with good reason. Very few knew how to contact him, but they still knew who he was because of his record; over 100 A and S class Stray Devil kills, and an even larger number of lower classed strays. Those numbers earned him quite the reputation among the supernatural world, with everyone asking the same questions; just who is Raven, other than Azazel and Baraqiel, no one knew who Raven _really_ is.

The Stray looked down at Raven fearlessly, not even flinching when he heard the name that haunts Stray Devils. This man was arrogant, he fully believed that his advantage in size guaranteed his victory against the mercenary, not to mention his considerable muscle mass thanks to the transformation, making him believe that he also surpassed Raven in strength, but he was wrong. So very wrong. "Hahaha! Bring it on bird brain! With this new body I can destroy anything, especially puny men like you! And for the record, the names Hyde. Edward Hyde. I despise the name given to me at birth, so I would appreciate it if you referred to your killer as such." Hyde, now standing tall, sent his fist towards Raven yet again, but to no avail. The hand was stopped once more, but this time, it was the claw that blocked it and pushed him back to the floor.

Raven pulled out the large Katana from the sheath on his back and pointed the blade downwards, placing his clawed hand over the top of the hilt. The stray looked confused, as did the Gremory peerage until he a booming voice called out "VIOLET THUNDER!" at Raven's call, a large flash erupted out of nowhere, and a purple stream of thunder crashed down on Hyde, earning a loud scream of pain from the Stray. He continued his onslaught, watching on as Hyde rolled on the floor, writhing and screaming in pain. Raven eventually relented on his assault, leaving Hyde a twitching mess, stuck in a daze on the floor. Raven approached him and stabbed the Katana through Hyde's chest, getting more pained screams from the Stray.

"M-Mercy... please?" the Stray was reduced to a bloody mess, all he could do was beg for his own life, the act only serving to enrage the man wielding the sword that is currently six inches deep inside Hyde's chest

"You dare beg for mercy. After all that you have done. A creature like you, one that has caused so much pain, one that killed a good man out of rage, just because he was protecting his servants from your power. Dorian's parents are in despair from the loss of their son, so much so that they were willing to give up everything they had to avenge him, and I plan to do just that." Raven stepped back from the Stray and stuck his palm in the air, calling down a powerful bolt of lightning, striking the sword that was still firmly planted in Hyde's chest, and completely decimating the monster.

With the stray taken care of, Raven made his way over to the Gremory peerage, who were still recovering from the display they had just witnessed. They all turned his way when he pointed his hands towards them, paying no mind to their confused expressions, and slowly surrounded them with the same gusts that carried Koneko to safety. They weren't sure why, but they felt like they could trust him, so they just sat calmly as the wind covered them and they were right to. Soon all of the injuries that the girls received were healed, it did nothing for their fatigue, but it helped immensely.

"Rias Gremory." the girl in question flinched at his harsh tone "What were you thinking!? Lucifer specifically told you NOT to come here, yet you did anyway, and in doing so, you nearly cost your servants their lives. Why did you ignore his orders!?" the red head looked down sadly

"I-I thought I could handle it. Plus, this is my territory, it's my duty to take care of any Strays in the area."

"This isn't your "Territory" girl. This is a human town, inhabited by humans. The Underworld has much more land than Earth does, so why don't you go down there and piss on a few trees if you wanna play territorial, and leave the Humans out of it." Rias smartly kept her mouth shut, not wanting to annoy the merc any further.

"Thank you for saving us." Yumi called out, stopping Raven from leaving the girls to their own devices

"Not a problem. Just make sure you talk the Terrier out of ignoring orders next time."

"How did you heal us?" Rias asked curiously, the others were looking equally interested, so Raven sighed and turned back to the group

"It's a spell of mine, called "Gust of Mending". The name is pretty self explanatory. Now if you don't mind, I would like to leave some time before dawn." Raven spread his wings and started to fly off, only to be stopped yet again by Rias

"WAIT!?" against his better judgement, Raven turned to face the heiress, somehow conveying an irritated expression through the mask.

"What now?" Rias smiled at him, her servants blinking in surprise at the question

"Will you join my peerage?" Rias had a confident smirk, firmly believing that no one could turn her down. After what happened with Issei, she had started to doubt her own abilities, but when Koneko told her about their interaction, she figured it was because he didn't want to be a part of the war. So when Raven replied, she was left shocked, even though it was one of the most powerful supernatural beings in the world

"No." short, and to the point. Raven then flew into the sky, ignoring the calls that followed, and disappeared in a portal that looked like a flat tornado. He reappeared in the apartment, shedding the suit that he was known for, and prepared for his meeting with Azazel.

* * *

 **DONE! Hope you all enjoyed this one. There are a few references in this chapter, so props to anyone who gets them. R &R! Shadow Out!**


End file.
